Kollam MLA Mukesh kicks up row over phone call with school student

Kollam MLA M Mukesh has courted controversy by shouting at a class 10 student from Palakkad for calling him up for help instead of the legislator of the boy's own district. The actor said he would be filing a complaint with the Cyber Cell of police and soon it would be revealed who all were behind the incident.

Kollam:Kollam MLA M Mukesh has courted controversy by shouting at a class 10 student from Palakkad for calling him up for help instead of the legislator of the boy's own district. Mukesh also claimed that the phone call was part of a "politically motivated plan" to "harass him and corner him" into a situation, which would spark an outburst from him. Mukesh told the media that ever since he has been re-elected from Kollam, he has been receiving calls at all hours of the day on frivolous issues like why is the train late, when electricity supply will be restored, etc., and all these are part of a "major plan" to harass him.

In the audio clip of the telephonic conversation between the actor and the boy which went viral, the student can be heard saying that he had called asking for some help and that he got the number from a friend. However, an irate Mukesh does not ask what was the student's grievance and shouts at the boy that he should have called the MLA from Palakkad, who is not dead, for help before calling him. He also told the student that he should slap his friend in the face for giving the number of the actor instead of the Palakkad MLA.

When the boy says he does not know who the Palakkad MLA is, Mukesh said that had the student been standing before him, he would have caned him. He told the teenager to find out who the Palakkad MLA is and to speak to him or her and not to call him again without first contacting the legislator of that constituency. Explaining his conduct, Mukesh said that the student had called him six times prior to the recorded conversation and each time he had told the boy that he was in a zoom meeting and would call him back.

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However, the boy kept calling and the meeting got cut off, he claimed. The actor further said that his remark regarding caning the boy was just an expression as his conduct towards children can be ascertained from the children's show he had hosted. He said there was no need to teach him how to behave with children as he himself has kids, always tries to encourage children to achieve their best and never misbehaves with them and the instant incident was a well ''conceived plan'' to distress him.

Mukesh, via his video, also conveyed a message to the class 10 student that the person who gave him the actor's number was not a friend, rather an enemy of the boy and the State and youngsters ought not to listen to such people. He also said that a class 10 student should know who is the MLA of their constituency.

The actor said he would be filing a complaint with the Cyber Cell of police and soon it would be revealed who all were behind the incident. He said that the class 10 student might have been distressed by the incident, but he was even more distressed that a situation arose where he has to resort to clarify his stand. This is not the first time Mukesh has been the centre of controversy over his response to a telephone call. A few years back he had ranted at a caller who had called him at 11 pm.

(PTI)