KOZHIKODE: The delay on the part of the IUML leadership in reacting to the quashing of the case charged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against senior leader K M Shaji has evoked sharp reactions from a section of party workers on social media.
Kerala High Court quashed the money-laundering case slapped on Shaji on July 19. EDinitiated the case after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered a case against Shaji for allegedly taking Rs 25 lakh as bribe for sanctioning Plus-one course at the Azhikode Higher Secondary School in Kannur.
The High Court had quashed the bribery case also last April. Party workers are peeved by the ‘silence’ of the leadership in the developments because Shaji had argued that the case was framed as part of the political vendetta by the CPM. IUML president Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal finally reacted to the issue through a Facebook post on Friday. “The court verdict has proved that the case was part of political enmity,” Thangal said in the post.
Congratulating Shaji for the legal victory, Thangal asked him to continue fighting for the party.Those who commented under the post were sarcastic about the delay in responding to a development that could have been effectively utilised for pushing the CPM on the defensive for ‘hunting’ political opponents by misusing investigation agencies. There was suspicion among the supporters of Shaji that his adversaries in the party had a role in raking up the allegation. Some wanted party national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty to react to the issue.
Shaji was a strong contender for the post of state general secretary, but the state council had decided to appoint P M A Salam, who was in charge of the secretary, to the post. A few who reacted to Thangal’s post wanted the party leadership to make Shaji the state general secretary.
Thanking Thangal for the support, Shaji wrote that the words have increased his self-confidence. “You (Thangal) were always with me whenever fake cases were framed. You always enquired about the cases and consoled me whenever we met,” Shaji wrote in the comment.
He said it was Thangal’s prayers that helped him overcome the crisis. “It is proud for me that you found time to remember the legal battle and the victory even while immersed in busy activities,” Shaji said.
Thangal responds
Congratulating Shaji for the legal victory, Thangal asked him to continue fighting for the party. Those who commented under the post were sarcastic about the delay in responding to a development that could have been effectively utilised for pushing the CPM on the defensive for ‘hunting’ political opponents by misusing investigation agencies