Cries of 'azadi' find echo in Pattambi

Pattambi: “Abhivadyangal, abhivadyangal, nooru chuvappan abhivadyangal,” this slogan itself was enough for Kanhaiya Kumar to get all fired up and deliver a speech that lasted over half-an-hour at the campaign rally for LDF candidate Mohammed Muhsin, his mate in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and a student activist.
Kanhaiya, who looked visibly tired on account of the ongoing hunger strike in JNU, said he did not want to address an election campaign.“However, Muhsin, my dear friend, is contesting in Pattambi. He had been in the forefront of the JNU protests,” he said. A massive crowd had thronged the Pattambi market ground to glimpse Kanhaiya, the JNU students’ leader.
He went straight for the jugular, flaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “comparing Kerala with Somalia”. “The PM should learn history and check facts before insulting a most developed and educationally-advanced state like Kerala,” he said.
Youths were seen quickly translating the speech to Malayalam to those sitting nearby. Each sentence uttered by Kanhaiya was welcomed with thunderous applause.
Kumar said Kerala is fortunate that the election battle is between the LDF and UDF. He also welcomed the Delhi high court order staying disciplinary action initiated against him, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and others. As the speech ended, the 'Azadi' chants that had beguiled youth at JNU campus reverberated across the venue.