'Why didn't Kuzhalnadan raise the issue in Assembly?', will go ahead with legal action, says Minister K Krishnankutty

PALAKKAD: Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty has rejected Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan's allegations that the 2018 floods were man-made. The minister also asked why Mathew Kuzhalnadan did not raise the issue earlier in the Assembly. Krishnankutty clarified that the shutters of the Thottappally Spillway were opened in advance and stated that he would take legal action against the allegations.

Former minister Mathew T Thomas also responded, saying that the claims were baseless and politically motivated. “This is like a ‘wet bomb’ thrown by the UDF against me on the last day. Raising allegations in 2026 based on an incident from 2018 shows clear ill intent. It reflects the lack of real issues within the UDF,” he said.

He further added, “At that time, the UDF had approached the court. After considering technical aspects, the court asked the petitioners to withdraw the case. When they did not, the petition was dismissed. They are afraid of the truth. The UDF has alleged that this was done to help a private company mine black sand. However, mining permissions are granted by the Industries Department. The company itself has clarified that it has not entered into any agreement for black sand mining,” Mathew T Thomas said in a video message.

Earlier, Mathew Kuzhalnadan had alleged that the Thottappally Spillway was not opened in 2018 to benefit a private construction company, and that the floods were man-made. He claimed that an audio clip of a phone conversation involving Minister K Krishnankutty supported his allegations. Kuzhalnadan also said that the Irrigation Department had made mistakes and that the real intention was to remove accumulated black sand from the spillway. The responses from Minister Krishnankutty and former minister Mathew T Thomas came in reaction to these repeated allegations.