KOCHI: Communist Party of India's (CPI) Lok Sabha candidate from Thrissur V S Sunil Kumar removed a photo he posted with Tovino Thomas after the actor took to Facebook cautioning against the use of his image by the candidates.
Sunil Kumar's action comes after the actor posted on his FB and Instagram pages that it is against the law to use his picture for election campaigns as he was the brand ambassador for the Election Commission's Systematic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.
The former agriculture minister explained that he was unaware of Tovino's position as SVEEP's brand ambassador. He added that the photograph was taken during his visit to Pulikunnam where the actor was shooting for a film. The post showed Tovino and Sunil Kumar standing close with the caption extolling them as the shining stars of Thrissur, along with CPI's symbol and the request urging voters to help the candidate win.
Wishing all the LS candidates all the best, the actor posted that if anyone has used his photographs, then it has been done without his knowledge.
"I wish to hereby convey that I'm the ambassador for Kerala for the ECI's SVEEP programme and so it is against the law to use my photo, or a photo including me for any kind of election campaigning. In case somebody is using it, I wish to clarify that it is without my knowledge or consent. Wishing everyone a fair election experience," said Tovino, on his FB page.
Earlier, the Congress and BJP had ridiculed and opposed CPI's action of using Tovino's pictures on the election posters.