KOZHIKODE: UDF leaders have adopted a defensive stance against the cyber attack on K K Shailaja, the LDF candidate in Vadakara.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and Vadakara MLA K K Rema have accused the LDF of attempting to distract the public’s mind from the Panur blast case and CPM’s violent politics by emphasising the cyber attacks on Shailaja.
At a press meet in Vadakara on Wednesday, Rema criticised the Kerala Police and its cyber wing for not taking stringent action on the complaints regarding the cyber attack on the former minister. Rema said that such instances of personal abuse stem from the police’s failure to take decisive action against the complaints.
She condemned cyber attacks and personal insults against women. “The cyber attack against Shailaja is unacceptable. The police have failed to curb obscene online campaigns against women. It has been 20 days since Shailaja filed a complaint. Yet, there has been no action on the part of the police. Women in Kerala face significant challenges in the cyber world. Many female politicians, including myself, have fallen prey to this,” said Rema.
Meanwhile, Satheesan dismissed Shailaja’s claim that Shafi Parambil, the UDF candidate in Vadakara, was behind the cyber attack campaign. “Shailaja and her party are spreading lies because their ‘bomb politics’ is not working anymore. The same PR agency that concealed the number of Covid deaths in the state is behind the spread of lies in Vadakara. Where were the so-called feminists when the cyber wing of the CPM attacked K K Rema, Oommen Chandy’s daughter and other women leaders of the UDF?” asked Satheesan.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan also alleged that the cyber attacks would not have happened without the knowledge of the UDF leadership. “The UDF leadership should immediately intervene in the issue. Activists of the UDF are acting like a mafia as Shailaja’s victory in Vadakara is certain,” Govindan said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the police filed cases against two individuals for the cyber attacks on Shailaja. T H Aslam, a ward member of the New Mahe grama panchayat and the panchayat committee secretary of the IUML, was booked for sharing a fabricated video of the LDF candidate in a WhatsApp group.
The Perambra police also registered a case against an unknown person with the Facebook ID Salman Valoor based on a complaint lodged by LDF Vadakara parliament mandalam committee secretary Valsan Panoli.