Suresh Kochattil, head of Hyderabad chapter of prime minister Narendra Modi’s social media campaign during the 2014 elections, shot back into limelight for his controversial audio clip urging people to not send relief materials for the victims of Kerala floods because they mostly belong to “very well to do families”.
In a 11-minute viral audio clip, a text version of which is posted on his Facebook page too, Kochattil is heard saying, “ There seems to be a big build up of fund raising happening outside Kerala. However, most of the people who have been impacted by the floods are from very well to do families. They don’t need money, sanitary napkins or matchboxes or candles. They need nothing.”
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He says the matchboxes and the candles are not required because “every house in Kerala has electricity and the power will come back in a week, after the water recedes.” Instead, he says, Kerala needs “trade representatives” like carpenters, electricians, plumbers and painters who will help in rebuilding the houses of “well to do families” who have been impacted by the floods.
He can also be heard casting doubts on the fund utilisation from the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund and requesting people to contribute to the RSS’ Seva Bharathi NGO.
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After the English audio clip was widely shared on WhatsApp even outside Kerala, Kochattil was not spared from all-round condemnation by people across Facebook and Twitter.
Taking him down, Editor-in-chief of The News Minute, Dhanya Rajendra, posted on Facebook, “Wish Suresh stepped out of his house and went to camps where thousands of poor people are wondering what next in their lives.”
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