Newly elected BJP MLA from Kazhakkootam, V Muraleedharan, has drawn widespread criticism after a video showed him dropping candies onto the desks of tribal schoolchildren during a school reopening ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram. Critics compared the act to discriminatory social practices that Kerala has long sought to leave behind.
The incident took place on Monday, June 1, at the government-run Dr Ambedkar Memorial Model Residential School in Kattela, a tribal educational institution that provides residential schooling and support for Scheduled Tribe students in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Muraleedharan, a former Union Minister, was inaugurating the school's reopening ceremony alongside SC/ST Welfare Minister KA Thulasi.
In the video, which has since circulated widely on social media, the BJP MLA is seen distributing candies to students by dropping them in bunches onto their desks rather than handing them over directly. The children were reportedly instructed to wait until the distribution was completed before collecting the sweets.
The visuals triggered sharp criticism online, with several social media users arguing that the manner of distribution echoed caste-based discriminatory customs that historically denied marginalised communities direct social interaction and equal treatment. Many also questioned why Minister KA Thulasi did not intervene or publicly object while the incident was taking place.
Former Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty condemned Muraleedharan's conduct and demanded that he apologise to the children.
“The MLA should have handed over the sweets directly to the students, bringing them encouragement and joy. Such behaviour has no place in Kerala's social culture,” Sivankutty said.
He described the incident as reflecting a “savarna mentality” and said Muraleedharan should have withdrawn from the event if he was unwilling to interact with the children in a respectful manner.
Sivankutty further alleged that the BJP leader's actions amounted to a humiliating experience for the students and said the episode raised serious questions about the attitude displayed towards children belonging to tribal communities.
Many activists also strongly reacted to Muraleedharan’s actions. Dinu Veyil, a Dalit rights activist, slammed the BJP MLA, saying he should keep away from children until he becomes a humane person.
“Historically in India, food and the manner in which it is served have often been used to deny Dalit and Adivasi communities their human dignity and to constantly remind them of their caste status. That is precisely why the way food is distributed is both a cultural and a political question,” he posted.
However, V Muraleedharan claimed that he acted only to save time.
“The sweets were bought for the children, and they had to be distributed to them. To ensure the distribution was completed quickly, I handed them over collectively, table by table. It is over this small matter that the CPM attempted to give the issue a caste-discrimination angle,” he said in a social media post.
Muraleedharan, a senior BJP leader in Kerala and former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, won the Kazhakkootam Assembly seat in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election. Contesting his first Assembly election, he secured 35.39% of the vote and defeated CPI(M) veteran Kadakampally Surendran by a margin of 428 votes.