All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary and MP, K.C. Venugopal, recently stated that the Kerala government’s underlying political agenda was clear during the event organized to honor Malayalam cinema icon Mohanlal, recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Speaking to the media in Alappuzha on Sunday, October 5, 2025, Mr. Venugopal clarified that despite the Congress party’s respect for Mohanlal as a beloved artist of Kerala, they chose not to turn the felicitation into a controversy. However, he urged the organizers to reflect on whether it was appropriate to involve a personality like Mohanlal in what he perceived as ‘narrow political interests’.
Venugopal asserted that the state government is orchestrating such public relations stunts as a desperate attempt to counter growing public discontent. He stressed that the controversy surrounding Mohanlal’s felicitation was entirely avoidable. According to him, the event was a deliberate strategy to shift focus away from the persistent Sabarimala controversies. The AICC general secretary concluded by saying that the government’s own missteps are now catching up to it, leading to a continuous cycle of errors.
Furthermore, Mr. Venugopal highlighted that the government allocated ₹8.22 crore of public funds for the ‘Global Ayyappa Sangamam’, despite a clear directive from the Kerala High Court against using such funds for the event. He pointed out that the devaswom board’s actions directly contradicted their assurances to the High Court, with the money being transferred to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society. He accused the government of wilfully violating the court’s instructions regarding Sabarimala, driven by political motives to keep the issue alive as a focal point of controversy.