Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan alleges vested interests behind row over food packet distribution at MCH

Published 20 July 2026 · politics

Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday alleged that the criticism against him by BJP and CPI(M) leaders over the restricting free food packet distribution

Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday alleged that the criticism against him by BJP and CPI(M) leaders over the restricting free food packet distribution facilities at the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital (MCH) was driven by vested interests linked to private diagnostic laboratories. Recently, Mr. Muraleedharan announced plans to start a community kitchen rather than have voluntary organisations distribute food packets (pothichoru) by displaying their banners and flags at the MCH, a move that drew criticism from CPI(M) and BJP leaders. Rejecting allegations that the government had banned the distribution of food packets at hospitals, Mr. Muraleedharan clarified that the decision was confined to the Alappuzha MCH and was aimed at removing encroachment on government land that was affecting the institution's functioning. He alleged that Seva Bharati volunteers had objected when workers went to carry out work for the critical care unit, claiming the space as their own and demanding an alternative location before allowing the work to proceed. "This is government property. It does not belong to any individual or organisation. That is why such a decision was taken in Alappuzha," he told reporters. Muraleedharan alleged that the controversy had little to do with food distribution and was instead linked to the government's move to stop referring patients to private laboratories.

He claimed that despite the availability of laboratory facilities at the MCH, patients were being issued prescriptions directing them to two nearby private laboratories because reagents required for conducting tests at the hospital had not been procured. Without naming anyone, he alleged that the laboratories were “making lakhs of rupees in profits” and that the government's decision to procure reagents and ensure tests were conducted at the hospital itself had unsettled those with vested interests. "A strict instruction has been given that tests should no longer be sent outside. We have a laboratory there and tests should be conducted there itself," he said. Asked whether the private laboratories were linked to any political party, Mr. Muraleedharan declined to name anyone but urged them to check who controlled them and the profits they earned. The Minister alleged that both the BJP and the CPI(M) had adopted the same stand on the issue because of their alleged interests. "That is why I said K. Surendran and Pinarayi Vijayan are speaking the same language. More facts will come out. That is why they are attacking us," he alleged. Referring to criticism that branded him as an "annam mudakki" (one who stops food distribution), the Minister said the action was not against food distribution but against encroachment of government land.