Senior CPI(M) leader and candidate for the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat K K Shailaja.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kozhikode (Kerala): Senior CPI(M) leader K K Shailaja, the party's candidate from the Vadakara LS seat, on Saturday alleged that a communal campaign was unleashed against her on social media during the elections by the UDF, which was denied by her rival and Congress leader Shafi Parambil.
Shailaja, who faced off against Parambil in Vadakara alleged that the UDF and its candidate were behind the communal post which reportedly asked for people to avoid voting for her as she was a 'kafir'.
The CPI(M) leader said that she had heard the UDF candidate claiming that the post and its screenshots circulating on social media were fake, but said that he has to prove it first.
"Shafi is saying it is fake. Let him prove it. If it is fake, then we cannot say anything. But, from what I have seen and according to the information I have received, it is not fake. The posts on social media came from the pages of UDF workers. So, I am not convinced they are fake," she told reporters in Kozhikode earlier in the day.
Hours later, in a press conference at Vadakara, Parambil said that he was surprised by the statements made by his rival candidate.
He said that he had clearly stated a day ago that the post and its screenshots were fake.
"This was also evident from the fact that many deleted the post. Anyone could see it was a fake post," he said.
Parambil claimed that despite being aware that the post was fake, Shailaja made comments that were not expected from her.
"Despite what I said yesterday, statements were made to the press accusing me of using the word 'kafir', being silent on the issue and acting innocent. I was surprised by such statements. I do not know why they (CPIM) are making up stories which are not true," he said.
Parambil further said that he has never acted in a communal manner in his entire political career and that it was not a nice experience to be branded in this manner.
"The post was clearly intended to pinpoint and attack me ahead of the polls and destroy the affection that people of Vadakara have for me," he claimed.
Shailaja said that she made those comments about Parambil as she was convinced the post was created by the UDF workers. She said that the police must investigate the matter and being a cyber case, the identification of the culprits will take time.
This is not the first instance of cyber attack allegations by the Left front against the UDF and Parambil during the election time.
More than a week ago, the CPI(M) had accused the UDF and Parambil of unleashing a 'sexist and filthy campaign' against Shailaja.
The CPI(M) filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Parambil, alleging that the cyber attack was being done with the knowledge of the candidate and fake campaigns were being conducted by morphing photos and editing conversations.