KOCHI: The CPM is considering the cyber attack on K J Shine as a deliberate move by the Congress to defame her amid speculation that the party may field her from Paravur against Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan in the next assembly polls, according to sources.
Having contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the LDF candidate from Ernakulam, Shine, who is from Paravur, is expected to emerge as a visible face. Besides, there is a buzz in political circles that the CPM may consider taking over the Paravur seat from the CPI to challenge Satheesan, who has won there five times in a row. When asked about the possibility of fielding Shine from Paravur, CPM Ernakulam district secretary S Satheesh said the party is yet to decide on the matter.
“We are now preparing for the local body elections. Shine is a councillor in the North Paravur municipality and is active in the public sphere. We will decide on assembly elections later,” he said. Shine, who has been a councillor for three consecutive terms, is a standing committee chairperson in the municipality and is also a state committee member of the Kerala State Teachers Association.
Speaking to TNIE, Shine alleged a conspiracy behind the move.
“These posts have been in circulation on social media for a few days now and have even appeared on the official pages of the Congress and the UDF. It is a conscious and planned move to defame women in the public sphere. Their intention is to hide internal issues in their party, which came to light recently,” she said.
“We support Shine teacher in her legal and political fight,” said Satheesh. He said Congress’ deterioration was revealed in a big way when the Rahul Mamkootathil issue came to light. “Now, they are spreading false information through social media to counter that.
These defamatory posts appeared on the Congress and Youth Congress social media handles. If the Congress leadership is unaware of this, they should disown those who spread misinformation. Prominent Congress leaders, including B R M Shafeer, Jinto, and others, have made similar posts,” he said, asking if the Congress was willing to act against the party members who circulated defamatory posts on social media.
“The woman who spoke out against Rahul and the women leaders in the Congress, who demanded his resignation, were also attacked on social media,” he added.