Thiruvananthapuram, Reacting sharply to a statement made by the lone Keralite in the Union cabinet -- who opined that the over confidence of Kerala in handling the pandemic, instead of tackling it correctly, has led to the present situation in the states two distircts -- State Minister on Wednesday slammed the former for his irresponsible statement and called him "a third rate politician".

It all began after Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Murlaeedharan wrote in his Facebook that it was the over confidence of the Pinarayi Vijayan government, which led to a sudden spurt in cases in Idukki and Kottayam districts.

"They (Kerala Govt) were on cloud nine to declare these two districts in the green zone, but hours after this statement, what one saw was a spurt in fresh cases in these districts. They were not cautious, instead went applauding themselves and have landed in trouble. Instead of engaging in PR activities lauding their efforts, they should have concentrated more in handling the pandemic. Now things appear to have changed for the worse," wrote Muraleedharan in his Facebook.

Reacting to Muraleedharan was State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran who termed the former as a third rate politician.

"Just look into what is happening in PM Narendra Modi's home state -- Gujarat, in Delhi and in the big Mumbai city. In these places, things have gone out of hand and it's such people who blame us. Wish to know why it's happening like that in those places and instead of finding a solution to contain there, why is he speaking like a third rate politician. All know, political opponents just cannot come to terms with the applause that the Kerala government is getting from all quarters. He should best desist from making such cheap statements," said Surendran to the media, here.

In the past week, the sudden spurt in positive cases at Idukki and Kottayam, which was categorised in the green zone and had relaxed norms, but now it has gone into the red zone and very strict lockdown is now in place.