Even as development emerged a major poll plank in the final stages of the campaign for the byelection to the Puthuppally Assembly Constituency, the major political fronts continued to accuse each other of running a highly recriminatory campaign.
While Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of personally targeting the family members of the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) raised the alleged cyber attacks faced by LDF candidate Jaick C. Thomas’s wife Geethu Thomas. ‘
Derogatory remarks
Meanwhile, Minister for Cooperation V.N. Vasavan accused Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran of using derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during a recent press interaction.
A viral voice clip of a purported conversation between two Congress members with serious allegations against Oommen Chandy’s family, elicited a quick denial from senior Congress leader K.C. Joseph, who said that the allegations levelled in the conversation that the late leader’s family did not allow Mr. Joseph, M.M. Hassan and Benny Behanan to meet him were baseless.
Mr. Satheesan, in his press conference, said that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district leaders who had initially targeted Mr. Chandy’s family with public comments had backed out from it after they realised that it would backfire, but they gave covert support to cyber attacks against Mr. Chandy’s daughter Achu Oommen. Mr. Chandy, who has represented Puthuppally for 53 years continuously was an emotion for the people. This, along with the people’s anger against the State government, would reflect in the election results, he said. He also accused the Chief Minister of evading questions raised by the Opposition and refusing to talk to the media.
Mr. Sudhakaran said that the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) clean chit to Mr. Chandy in a sexual assault case filed on the basis of a complaint by the prime accused in the solar scam case was a setback for those who hunted him all through his life. Now, after his death, they were continuing to target his daughter. Meanwhile, Jaick’s wife Geethu, who filed a police complaint against alleged cyber attacks, said that she was disheartened by the slanderous campaign accusing Jaick of trying to garner sympathy using his pregnant wife.
