Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday expressed regret that actor Mammootty was caught in a controversy following his visit to Wayanad to view the township built by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for families displaced by the catastrophic Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides in 2024.

He also said that if any Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist was involved in the social media criticism that the actor was subjected to, he was sincerely apologetic for that.

Speaking at a public event in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Vijayan said that the actor, who was involved in many charitable activities, had visited the township on his own without informing anyone.

“He reached there with the intention of seeing the township. CPI(M) Wayanad district secretary K. Rafeeq, who is involved in a lot of activities in the region, accompanied him to show him around. Since Mr. Mammootty had reached there without informing anyone and was aware of the habit of turning everything into a controversy, he told Mr. Rafiq, with a good intention, not to accompany him. He told him that personally and not before any camera. However, in Kerala, there are people who carry cameras hidden in their bodies and create controversies,” said Mr. Vijayan.