THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister K Radhakrishnan has criticized Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh's remark that if Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the hero of the renaissance, his daughter should have been married off to a person from Scheduled Caste.

"Kodikunnil Suresh's statement insulting the Chief Minister and his family is not in line with civilized society. Let him check whether the statement is appropriate for the position and status of Kodikkunnil. Every human being has the right to live freely in India. They have the right to decide who they want to marry," he said.

"Saying that the Chief Minister should give his daughter in marriage to a Scheduled Caste man is not an opinion that should be there in a civilized society, and it is an insult to women. Every woman is free to marry whomever she wants. The very statement that women should be married is not correct in this era. Kodikunnil is trying to divert attention from the great crisis that his own party is going through. Congress will not escape with any of this. The Congress is now in such a big crisis", he added.

"My party knows how to look after me. In 1996, at a very young age, the party made me a minister. I was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 2006-11. Everyone knows how I handle things. I don't need a special certificate from Kodikunnil", Radhakrishnan said.

"When the Left governments came to power, they worked for the welfare of the marginalized people. The people brought the LDF back to power because it did good for the people. This was the reason why the LDF had won with a clear majority in 14 of the 16 SC-ST constituencies", he said.