Thiruvananthapuram | CPI(M) on Thursday continued to target Chief Minister V D Satheesan over the arrest of a Youth Congress activist with MDMA, with party state secretary M V Govindan alleging that the CM had known the accused since 2021.
Govindan's remarks came shortly after Satheesan denied allegations that one of the accused arrested in an MDMA case in Kasaragod was his social media coordinator and explained his association with the accused.
Satheesan had said he personally knew Muhammad Hussain and Abdul Salam, the two arrested persons, and that Hussain was a Youth Congress activist who had suffered severe injuries in a police lathi charge in Perumbavoor during the Nava Kerala Sadas led by then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
He had said that he later visited Hussain's house after local party workers suggested that he keep a promise he had made to visit the injured activist.
At a press conference here, Govindan displayed social media posts and photographs involving Satheesan and Hussain and claimed they showed that the two had known each other since 2021.
He said the Nava Kerala Sadas reached Perumbavoor on December 10, 2023, and alleged that several photographs of Satheesan with Hussain were taken between 2021 and October 2023, before the event.
"Claiming that he only met him after he was assaulted at the Sadas is false, as is clearly evident from these visuals. We can see multiple photos spanning from 2021 to October 2023," Govindan said.
He disputed Satheesan's claim that he had met Hussain only three or four times after the Nava Kerala Sadas, saying more than 18 photographs showed them together on various occasions, including at Satheesan's home, office, birthday celebrations and a banquet in Kozhikode.
Govindan questioned Satheesan's denial that Hussain was part of his social media team, claiming that Hussain had stated on his Facebook profile that he had worked as part of the Leader of the Opposition's social media team for five years.
"When someone makes such a claim, if it were untrue, why wouldn't a responsible political leader call and inquire about it? Why fail to show even basic courtesy by clarifying that he is not a social media coordinator? That is a serious issue," he said.
He raised questions over the appointment of a new nodal officer for Operation Toofan, the state's anti-narcotics drive, and sought scrutiny of the development.
Govindan accused the government of facilitating the removal of social media posts and news reports concerning Satheesan's alleged links with the drug case accused.
"News reports and posts regarding the CM's ties to the drug mafia are disappearing en masse," he alleged, terming the alleged removals a major threat to freedom of speech and press freedom.
Govindan accused Satheesan of misleading people over the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at Independence Day programmes.
Satheesan had said on Thursday that the state government had a clear policy on singing the national song Vande Mataram and that its position would become clear during the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
He was responding to questions on the government's stand following a letter from Kerala Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha stating that the Centre's instructions on the recitation of Vande Mataram should be followed in full.
Satheesan said the chief secretary had not issued any circular but had only forwarded the instructions received from the Centre to the Secretary of the Local Self Government Department.
Govindan alleged that Satheesan had claimed that failure to sing the full version could attract up to three years' imprisonment, saying no such provision existed in law.
He said the Congress had historically maintained that singing the first two stanzas was sufficient and alleged that Satheesan was now unwilling to reiterate that position.
He criticised Satheesan for saying that the Chief Secretary had merely forwarded a Central government directive on the issue.
"So, this presents a grave and dangerous situation where it is suggested that directives of the Sangh Parivar will be implemented without any modification, adopting an approach contrary to the positions of the Congress itself, which creates a very complex issue in Kerala," he said.
Govindan targeted the state government's decision to sign an agreement under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban scheme, alleging that Kerala had yielded to the Centre's conditions.
He said lakhs of houses had been constructed under Kerala's LIFE Mission scheme in urban and rural areas and claimed that the LDF government had earlier opposed putting Central government logos on such houses.
"A person's home is every human being's pride. No family would want to publicly display and present their home in a way that every visitor sees it as something received out of someone's charity," he said.
He alleged that the government's approach to these issues showed that the CM was moving towards policies favoured by the Centre and the Sangh Parivar.
