"This deed has already cost two lives in our home": N M Vijayan’s daughter-in-law

Wayanad: Padmaja, daughter-in-law of the late Wayanad DCC treasurer N M Vijayan, broke down while speaking to the media about the ongoing ordeal her family faces, after receiving the deed from Sulthan Bathery Urban Cooperative Bank.

“This deed has already cost two lives in our home. When our father, pleaded for help, if someone had listened then, both he and my brother-in-law would still be alive today,” she said.

Padmaja recalled that the Congress leadership had initially promised to clear all the financial liabilities arising from what she described as a Congress-led scam. Later, however, the KPCC scaled back its commitment, saying it could meet only three of the family’s demands and that this was the maximum they could afford. “We agreed to those terms. Today they say they have fulfilled those three demands. But what about the rest we are still left to bear?” she asked. “I have three small children. I need to survive this,” she added firmly.

She accused Congress leaders of abandoning the family after Vijayan’s death, only to later approach them for political convenience. “They spoke maliciously about a man who served the party for fifty years. Even then, when they came with assurances, we welcomed them with both hands. But after signing an agreement, we waited months for them to act responsibly. Instead, we were ridiculed and shamed. I did what any mother would do in a crisis. For that, I was subjected to cyberattacks by Congress workers targeting me and my children. I cannot even step outside my home. Is this how the party treats its own?” she asked, referring to the circumstances that led to her suicide attempt.

Padmaja also clarified that the family never asked the party to settle personal debts. “A subcommittee visited us and told us to make an account of our debts and approach MLA Sunny Joseph. That is when we assessed that we have a liability of ₹2.5 crore,” she said.

On the resignation of Wayanad DCC president N D Appachan, Padmaja remarked: “It’s karma. He is the second accused in the suicide case of my father-in-law and brother-in-law. There must be a structural change in the Wayanad DCC. The truth will come out in court soon.”