Idukki DCC President CP Mathew's Speech Exposes Congress's Feudal Attitude

Thiruvananthapuram: The controversy surrounding Idukki DCC president C P Mathew's misogynistic and casteist remarks has deepened, with critics charging that the speech lays bare the party's deeply entrenched feudal mindset towards Dalit and tribal communities even in 21st-century Kerala.

The critique goes beyond the remarks themselves, pointing to what observers describe as the unstated logic in Mathew's speech — that deploying tribal women in political confrontations would allow Congress workers to exploit the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to their own advantage in any subsequent legal proceedings. By openly advising the use of a tribal woman to tear her own blouse as provocation against political opponents, Mathew revealed a worldview that treats indigenous communities as instruments of political strategy rather than as citizens deserving dignity and protection.

Drawing a pointed historical parallel, critics invoked the Salwa Judum — the Congress-backed militia raised in Chhattisgarh in 2005 under Mahendra Karma during the UPA government's tenure, in which tribals were armed and deployed against Naxalites, with devastating human cost. Mathew's speech, it is argued, is evidence that those who subscribe to that same exploitative logic remain active and influential within the Congress organisation.

The speech reflects a dominance mentality that views tribals as tools available for the use of the powerful. A leader who openly advocates such tactics, critics say, has forfeited all moral claim to hold the position of DCC president. The incident stands as yet another illustration of Congress's willingness to resort to any means, however reprehensible, in the pursuit of electoral victory.