"To express my respect for him''; Divya S Iyer responds to picture of her hugging MP K Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 'That picture is to express my respect for him. A respect that is only felt for a few''. This was Divya S Iyer's response to the picture of her lovingly hugging former minister and newly elected MP K Radhakrishnan, which was discussed on social media.

Divya shared the picture on her Instagram account on the day K Radhakrishnan resigned as minister. More than ten thousand likes were received in a single day. Then the picture was shared on other social media. Divya posted the picture taken during the send-off given when she had to vacate the post of District Collector of Pathanamthitta.

"When I was the district collector, I and the minister have gone to the tribal villages of Pathanamthitta. I felt honoured when he stood as one of them for their welfare. When he sees the distress of the poor, he immediately understands and acts accordingly. The energy it gives to people like me is not small," said Divya. On that day, her husband Sabrinath and Divya's parents were present at the collector's residence. Divya also posted a photo of everyone standing with Radhakrishnan.

"Many people called after seeing the picture. Most of them were women. When I went to his residence on the 20th, all his relatives were there."- said Divya.

Sharing the picture posted by Divya, the writer Lakshmi Rajeev wrote: "Because of the limitation of being a woman, I had to just stare without hugging the person when I should have hugged another human being. Only in this land. I remembered hugging my father by bougainvillea flowers and saying goodbye. Divya S Iyer, I can't help but hold you close today. Love''