‘Invited as vlogger, not spy'—Congress-led UDF backs Kerala govt amid row over Jyoti Malhotra's visit
As the BJP unit in Kerala continues to clamour over the issue, demanding a probe into the state visit by the vlogger, the ruling Left Democratic Front has found support from unexpected quarters. The Opposition in the state, the Congress-led United Democratic Front, has come forward to defend the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government and Riyas.
Thiruvananthapuram: Facing political heat over the visit of influencer Jyoti Malhotra to Kerala in 2024-25, the state's Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas clarified Tuesday that she was part of a routine Kerala tourism campaign handled by external agencies in the absence of any oversight by his department or by the state government.
Kerala assembly Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, however, said he does not blame the tourism department or Riyas for her visit, asking whether anyone could have known she was a spy when she came to the state in 2024-25, months before her arrest. The Kerala government would not have invited her if it had known that she was a spy, he added.
'When she came, she was invited as a vlogger, not as a spy. Who could have known then that she was a spy?' Satheesan asked.
When ThePrint approached the tourism department, it shared a video from a social media account held by Jyoti Malhotra. The video shows her speaking to the BJP leader and former Union minister, V. Muraleedharan, following the inauguration of the second Vande Bharat train in Kerala in September 2023. She visited Kerala to participate in a promotional video during the launch of the train connecting Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram.
Then, in 2024 and January 2025, she revisited Kerala.
'How were we supposed to know in January that an issue would arise in May? The central agencies that should inform states about such matters also did not alert us,' said Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Riyas.
Calling the controversy created by the BJP unnecessary and driven by its desire to gain political mileage in Kerala, Mohammed Riyas said Jyoti Malhotra might have visited many other states, including those ruled by the BJP, at the time.
'The practice of bringing influencers from outside for tourism promotion is not new. Empanelled agencies manage the entire programme. The minister or department does not interfere with who the agencies invite, or what they do,' Riyas told reporters Tuesday.
On Monday, ANI published an RTI reply, revealing Jyoti Malhotra as among 41 influencers who visited Kerala earlier this year as part of a tourism promotion initiative.
Soon after, BJP leaders at the state and national levels began using the information to attack the Kerala government.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has accused the Left government of blocking 'Bharat Mata' while giving 'red carpet' treatment to 'Pakistani spies', demanding that Mohammed Riyas resign and face an investigation over the issue.
State BJP leader and advocate B. Gopalakrishnan has alleged that there must be some mystery behind Jyoti Malhotra's 'Kerala visit'. 'There is a mystery… Many terrorist outfits have found roots in the state, and the administration has always supported them,' Gopalakrishnan told ThePrint.
When asked about the video, Gopalakrishnan added that there was no proof that the BJP called upon Jyoti Malhotra to promote the Vande Bharat train in 2023.
Riyas said that he initially felt the matter did not deserve a response, but changed his mind as it triggered 'unnecessary discussions and comments by some senior political leaders'. 'For them, it might suit their political agenda, but for society, it creates an unnecessary perception about Kerala's tourism sector,' he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Congress alleges Centre & CPIM 'compromise' as RA Chandrasekhar takes charge as Kerala DGP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Direct attack on credibility': Mumbai court on BJP leader Narayan Rane's statements about Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut
In a detailed order, a Special Court in Mumbai has rejected BJP leader Narayan Rane's revision appeal challenging the summons to him in a defamation case filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, and said the statements made cannot be part of a political discourse or dissenting views. The court passed the order on Wednesday, and the detailed order was made available on Thursday. Raut had filed a defamation suit against Rane after the latter allegedly claimed at the Konkan Festival in Mumbai's Bhandup in 2023 that Raut's name was not on the voters' list in 2004, when the Sena leader was elected as a Member of Rajya Sabha. Special Judge S R Navander said, '…the statement that the complainant (Raut) had committed fraud and would have to go to jail is vague, unsubstantiated, and cannot be said to have been made in good faith or with due care and attention. The statements were made without supporting material, thereby indicating malice and an intent to tarnish the complainant's reputation.' Rane had also claimed that it was at his behest that Raut got nominated, and he had extended help, including spending money, for the Sena leader to get elected. In April 2025, a magistrate court said that there was a prima facie case of defamation and issued a summons to Rane. Rane had sought that the order be set aside, stating that the comments resulted from political discourse and differing views, as they are long-standing political rivals. He also said that no proof was given on how it had caused any damage to Raut's reputation. Appearing for Raut, lawyer Sarthak Shetty had submitted that the statements made about the Sena (UBT) leader's name not being included in the voters' list were false, and produced the list from 2004. While Rane had cited orders of the Supreme Court which had quashed multiple complaints made over opinion-based statements, the special court said Rane's remarks directly attacked Raut's 'honesty and credibility' in public life.
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Farmers being misled on urea shortage: BJP
The BJP has accused the Congress Government of sowing the seeds of doubt into the minds of farmers in Telangana about the purported shortage of urea for the Rabi season, even when the Centre had actually supplied three lakh metric tonnes more. Addressing the farmers' wing (Kisan Morcha) of the party, during a meeting of its office-bearers at the State BJP office here on Thursday, party president N. Ramchander Rao said that the 'urea shortage bogey' is being created by the ruling party only to reap the benefit during the forthcoming local body polls. The BJP chief charged the government with spreading falsehoods when the Centre had supplied 12.02 lakh metric tonnes of urea for the 24-25 agriculture season, when the demand was just 9.5 lakh metric tonnes. In fact, under the Modi Government, necessary steps were taken to provide ample supply of fertilizers to farmers across the country and also in dealing with black marketers with an iron hand, unlike the UPA regime 'where farmers were forced to stand in queues for obtaining it', he added. Yet, the Congress Government here wants to mislead farmers and to cover up its own failures in not ensuring proper payment of Rythu Bharosa, which has been cut from the promised ₹15,000 during the elections to ₹12,000, but now ₹6,000 is being credited into farmers' accounts, he said. Mr. Ramchander Rao also said that the farmers' welfare scheme payment was made last month only after the High Court had directed the local body polls to be held by September end. It has been 19 months since the Government has come to power but there has been no movement to provide the farm insurance which would help the famers during natural calamities under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana and following the BRS Government in this connection, he said. The former MLC also questioned the government about the Bhu Bharati module replacing the controversial Dharani of BRS regime and said it is marked with technical glitches. 'Farmers are forced to run around registration offices for justice still and there is a lack of accountability from the administration side. We should go to the local level and highlight farmers' grievances,' he advised the wing. The BJP leader said such is the sad financial condition in the State that retired employees are being denied benefits and made to run from pillar to post. General secretary G. Premender Reddy, farmers' wing national executive member G. Madhusudhan Reddy and others were present. Medak tour Mr. Ramchander Rao will tour Medak district and participate in various programmes, organised by the BJP, in Narsapur, Chegonta, Medak, and Toopran, on Friday, said a press release.
Scroll.in
25 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: 1 dead in Assam eviction violence, Karnataka says police acted like RCB ‘servants' & more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. One person was killed and several were injured after the Assam Police opened fire at protesters amid clashes at the site of an eviction drive in the Betbari area of Goalpara district. At least two police personnel were among the injured. Authorities had cleared 140 hectares of land in the Paikan Reserve Forest on Saturday, displacing 1,080 families, most of whom were Muslims of Bengali origin. Since then, the displaced families have been living in tents and makeshift tarpaulin huts, which officials had asked them to dismantle. The clashes broke out on Thursday after authorities dug up the road that provided connectivity to the settlement. Since the BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, seven persons – all of them Muslims – have been shot dead by the police during eviction drives. Read on. The Bangladesh government has clarified that the building being bulldozed in the Mymensingh district has no historical or family links to filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a 'detailed inquiry' into archival records revealed that the land belongs to the government. While the government noted that the road in front of the house – Harikishore Ray Road – is named after Satyajit Ray's great-grandfather, it highlighted that the Ray family had sold the house they owned long ago and 'thus no longer exists'. Later, a multi-storied building was constructed there by the new owner. The structure being demolished was dilapidated, risky and unusable, the ministry added. Read on. The Karnataka Police officials acted like 'servants' of the Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the state government has told the High Court hearing the case about the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Eleven persons were killed during the stampede on June 4. The state government also told the court that the police officers had started making arrangements for the cricket team's victory celebrations without ascertaining who had permitted the event. Further, the government claimed that the cricket team had submitted an application proposing a victory celebration even before the final match. The government defended the suspension of Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, accusing him of failing to do his duty and causing 'public embarrassment'. Read on. The Delhi High Court has quashed 16 first information reports registered against 70 Indians who had hosted foreign nationals participating in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. They faced charges under the Indian Penal Code, the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act and the Foreigners Act. The religious congregation was held on March 9 and March 10 in 2020, in Delhi's Nizamuddin area. On March 25 that year, a countrywide lockdown was imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The congregation was blamed by some for several infections during the initial weeks of the lockdown. The police alleged that the 70 persons had violated the nationwide lockdown by hosting foreign nationals between March 24 and March 30 that year. However, the court asked the police where the foreign nationals could have gone amid the sudden lockdown. Read on. Months ahead of the Assembly elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced that up to 125 units of electricity will be provided free of charge to consumers in the state. The change will be applicable from the July bill. Additionally, the Janata Dal (United) leader said that in the next three years, solar power plants will be installed on the rooftops of all domestic consumers or at nearby public places. The state government will bear the expense of installing the plants for extremely poor families. In September, Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav promised to make the consumption of up to 200 units of electricity free to consumers if his Rashtriya Janata Dal was voted to power. Bihar is expected to head to the Assembly polls in October or November. Read on.
