Reading epics like Ramayana seems to have influenced my character: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that his parents were believers in god and he had grown up reciting epics like Ramayana, which seems to have helped in moulding his character.

In an hour-long interview with actor Mohanlal, the CPM senior leader also said that he doesn't care for attempts by some sections to brand him as a stubborn person.

Brought out by the state Information and Public Relations department, the interview by Mohanlal is widely interpreted as an image booster of Vijayan as the state assembly polls are approaching and the government is facing criticisms over a host of issues like the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple gold heist and women entry issue.

"My mother used to sing legendary songs for me. As I learnt to read I used to read Ramayana, Krishna songs and Mahabharata for my mother. Such readings seem to have influenced my character and left some elements of ascetic life in me. That could be why I am always happy with what I have and don't have much desire towards anything," said Vijayan.

Vijayan also recited certain lines from the Upanishads, which means God lives in the minds of people.

"My parents were believerS in gods as well as in devils and demons, especially my mother.

During childhood I too feared devils and ghosts. Those days there used to be no power supply in our locality. Hence it used to be dark all around after evening. Hence there used to be fear about demons, devils and ghosts. But as I grew up and started reading, I could come of such fears," says Vijayan, adding that there was no power supply at his house even when he became an MLA for the first time in 1970.

Vijayan also tells about his intimacy with his mother and how she supported him by allowing him to study up to college level at a time when many had to stop studies at primary level.

As the actor asks about the general assumption that Vijayan is having a stubborn character, he says, "It is part of a branding attempt. There could be politicians who react against negative media reports against them. But I never bother about any such news against me. When our mind is clean we can face allegations with a smile," said Vijayan in the interview that was released on Thursday.

Vijayan also recollected that someone close to a known politician had once told him that the politician was plotting to kidnap his children. Even as Vijayan refused to name the politician, earlier he had raised the same allegation by referring to Congress MP K Sudhakaran.