'This is a shop run by Congress workers, go and buy items from shop run by BJP worker'; Mariyakutty alleges she was denied ration by Congress worker

IDUKKI: Mariyakutty, who recently quit the Congress to join the BJP, has alleged that she was denied service at a ration shop in Adimali. The shop is reportedly run by a Congress supporter. According to her complaint, when she went to collect supplies, she was told to go instead to a ration shop run by BJP workers. She has lodged formal complaints with the District Collector and the District Supply Officer.

“A Congress worker told me this shop was run by Congress supporters and that I should not come there. They said I should go to a BJP-run shop. I felt threatened and left,” Mariyakutty said.

The incident took place on the eve of Onam. However, shop staff denied the allegations, stating that the shop was extremely crowded that day and the billing server had broken down intermittently. They said rations were given to those who arrived first, and Mariyakutty left because she was unwilling to wait.

Mariyakutty had earlier come into the public eye after protesting against the suspension of welfare pensions. In May, she officially joined the BJP and later appeared on stage at the Developed Kerala Convention in Thodupuzha, where BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed her with a shawl.