Thiruvananthapuram | The CPI(M) in Kerala on Sunday dismissed media reports that its mouthpiece Deshabhimani had deliberately withheld its weekend supplement to avoid publishing an article on party stalwart and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, saying the delay was solely due to "technical reasons".
The party's clarification came after sections of the media reported that the Sunday weekend supplement had not been published to avoid carrying a memorial article on Achuthanandan ahead of his first death anniversary on July 21.
The article, titled "Muzhanginnippolum Aa Kadalirambam" (roughly translated as "The Roar of That Sea Still Echoes"), was written by Achuthanandan's former secretary and biographer K V Sudhakaran and was reportedly slated to be the lead feature of the supplement.
An editorial note in Sunday's edition of Deshabhimani said the weekend supplement could not be published due to "technical reasons".
Subsequently, some media reports claimed that the supplement had been withheld following a dispute over the headline of another article on its last page, while social media platforms were flooded with speculation over the issue.
As the controversy intensified, Deshabhimani Resident Editor M Swaraj issued a clarification, rejecting the reports as "baseless".
He said the Achuthanandan memorial article had not been dropped and that the weekend supplement had been postponed solely because of "technical problems" related to printing.
Swaraj urged the media not to drag the late CPI(M) leader into an "unfounded controversy" and said the weekend supplement would instead be distributed along with Monday's newspaper.
According to Swaraj, the printing-related technical issues had since been resolved, and the supplement, including the memorial article on Achuthanandan, would be published with Monday's edition.
