Ex-Health Minister recalls ‘harassment’ after Muraleedharan’s remarks

Thiruvananthapuram, Former Health Minister Veena George recalled the "harassment" she faced during her tenure, shortly after her successor K Muraleedharan acknowledged the difficulty of managing public backlash and criticism directed at the health department.

In a Facebook post on late Friday, the CPI leader claimed that she had faced personal attacks, physical assaults, cyber harassment and false propaganda during the previous LDF government's tenure, without naming anyone.

She, however, didn't name any particular person in the FB post.

George also referred to incidents of people placing wreaths and coffins at her house, describing the alleged harassment as "too cruel" to be expressed in words.

"There were attacks with a clear agenda. But I could not afford to give up," George said in the post.

She added that she had worked beyond her limits, in line with government policies, for lakhs of people who might otherwise have been left helpless in the face of diseases and the high cost of treatment.

"Nothing can be summed up in a single word," she said.

Her critical remarks came hours after Muraleedharan's remarks about criticism against the Health Department.

While speaking at a graduation ceremony at the medical college here on Friday, Muraleedharan had said that the health department in Keralam often faces scrutiny over alleged medical negligence and a lack of facilities and medicines.

Describing the health department as one that routinely faced criticism, Muraleedharan said he had been among those criticising it for a decade.

"When you become doctors and take up a post, there will be 10 people throwing stones at you. It is easy for those who throw stones. I was also someone who threw stones comfortably for 10 years. But we understand the difficulty only when the backlash hits us," he had said.

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