Eggs, hibiscus buds and a political storm around former Cong MLA

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Congress legislator Shobana George, known for her eventful political journey and frequent returns to Kerala's political spotlight, has once again found herself at the centre of controversy.

This time, the row revolves around allegations that an unconventional beauty treatment involving chicken eggs, hibiscus flower buds and other ingredients was carried out during her tenure as chairperson of the state-run Ayurvedic institution Oushadhi.

Shobana George has strongly denied the allegations, challenging her critics to produce documentary evidence proving that she underwent any such treatment.

The issue has now reached the Kerala Assembly. Congress MLA V.P. Sajeendran raised questions about the alleged use of chicken eggs, hibiscus flower buds and other ingredients for a beauty regimen.

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has said an inquiry will be conducted into the matter.

Shobana, however, has chosen humour to counter the allegations.

In a Facebook video, in characteristic sarcasm, she used the caption, “I came to bathe in Palaruvi after applying hibiscus buds and chicken eggs”.

In another video, she is seen eating puri and sabji when someone asks why there is no egg for breakfast.

She replies sarcastically that she had already eaten 100 eggs that morning and adds that she would not eat eggs without hibiscus buds.

Behind the social media banter is a political career marked by changes in party equations. Shobana was elected to the Kerala Assembly three times from Chengannur as a Congress legislator.

In 2005, she resigned from the party after supporting the faction led by veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran.

Karunakaran subsequently formed the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran), which later became an ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Shobana contested the 2006 Assembly election but lost. After a period on the sidelines in the Congress, she joined the CPI(M) ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections.

She subsequently headed two different state-run corporations during the LDF's tenure.

Her latest controversy stems from allegations relating to her tenure as Oushadhi chairperson.

An internal inquiry report reportedly found that a beauty treatment had been conducted in a deluxe air-conditioned room at the institution's Panchakarma hospital without the procedure being entered in the hospital records.

The report allegedly referred to the use of three kg of hibiscus flower buds, eggs, lemon juice, and Eladi coconut oil, besides other mixtures used for facial and body treatments.

It also reportedly raised questions about the use of official funds and services of doctors for a procedure that was not part of the hospital's established treatment offerings.

Shobana has rejected the allegations and said she did not undergo any treatment at Oushadhi. She has also announced plans to complain to the Speaker against Sajeendran, accusing him of making false allegations in the Assembly.

Health Minister Muraleedharan has said a report on the alleged unauthorised treatment is available, but no action has been taken so far.

Adding to the intrigue is that the son of Karunakaran was the party president of Shobhana when they were all together.

For the 64-year-old politician, whose career has spanned the Congress, a Karunakaran-led political outfit and later the CPI(M), the latest episode marks yet another chapter in a public life that has seldom been far from controversy.

Whether the matter remains a political slugfest or results in formal action will depend on the outcome of the promised inquiry and the evidence it uncovers.

Source: IANS