Political slugfest is intensifying over a WhatsApp screenshot with communal overtones that appeared on the eve of the recent Lok Sabha elections in the Vadakara segment.
The screenshot of a message seeking votes for United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Shafi Parambil, terming his Left Democratic Front (LDF) rival [K.K. Shailaja] a โkafirโ, had led to heated arguments then itself. While the LDF accused Muslim Youth League activist P.K. Mohammed Khasim of creating and spreading the message, the UDF retorted saying it was the handiwork of the ย Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] cyber groups.
The UDF and the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), its ally, are now planning to step up their protests seeking action against CPI(M) leaders and activists, who, they alleged, created the screenshot to gain political advantage in the elections. A protest march will be taken out to the office of the District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) at Vadakara on Monday (August 19). K. Muraleedharan, former Vadakara MP, will open the march.
Denied role
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) has denied any role in the episode. On Sunday, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) Vadakara block committee declared a prize of โน25 lakh to those who can prove that the organisation had created the message. R.S. Ribesh, a DYFI leader from Vadakara, has also sent a legal notice to Parakkal Abdulla, former Kuttiyadi MLA and Indian Union Muslim League leader, after the latter mentioned his name in connection with the circulation of the screenshot in a Facebook post. The DYFI also organised a public meeting on Sunday in Vadakara to explain its position on the issue.
Though the police had registered cases based on the complaints of the LDF and Mr. Khasim, it did not make much headway. Meanwhile, Mr. Parambil won the election with a huge margin too. The issue came to limelight again with the police claiming in a report submitted in the Kerala High Court in recent days that the screenshot was first shared by pro-CPI(M) social media groups. Mr. Ribesh was among the admins of those groups. The court had asked the police about the progress of the investigation based on a petition filed by Mr. Khasim.
