V D Satheesan Loses Temper at Press Meet, Refuses to Answer Questions on Wayanad Fund by Deshabhimani, Kairali

Kasaragod: Opposition Leader V D Satheesan created a scene at a press conference here on Saturday morning, declaring that he would not respond to questions from Deshabhimani and Kairali News, accusing the two outlets of deliberately asking provocative questions and attempting to disrupt his press meet.

The flashpoint came when a reporter questioned Satheesan about AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal's disclosure that no money remains in the Congress account linked to the Wayanad disaster relief fund. When pressed further by a Kairali News reporter on Venugopal's statement — that the funds deposited in the Thiruvananthapuram branch of Dhanalakshmi Bank had been exhausted after the land purchase required drawing additionally from the KPCC account — Satheesan turned visibly agitated, abruptly ended the press conference, and walked out.

Before walking off, Satheesan told the mediapersons that he was under no obligation to account for the fund details to the media and that figures would be shared only after the project was completed. He accused Kairali of wilfully asking provocative questions and attempting to derail the proceedings. "You have no right to interrupt me while I am speaking," he said, before announcing that he would not entertain any questions from Deshabhimani or Kairali News.

The controversy over the Wayanad relief fund has been building steadily. Satheesan had initially stated that the collected funds were deposited in a joint account held by himself and the KPCC president — a claim contradicted by the fact that no such account appears in the affidavits submitted by either leader alongside their nomination papers for the assembly elections. The amount is also absent from the AICC balance sheet.

Satheesan also declined to answer questions about the Congress party's links with Jamaat-e-Islami, and dismissed opinion poll projections on the election results as fabricated.