Thrissur: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is facing an embarrassing situation after a party member was captured on CCTV camera placing a flex board at Vadanappally in Thrissur district in support of All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal amid the chief ministerial race in the state. The incident has triggered a political controversy, with the Congress party alleging that the act was carried out with the consent of the CPM leadership to create a rift within the Congress.
The CCTV Footage and the Flex Board
The CCTV footage shows CPM local committee member Aravassery Mohammed erecting a flex board that carried the text ‘Let KC Lead’ along with Venugopal's photograph. The board was placed in front of the Vadanappally panchayat office and was attributed to an entity called ‘Save Congress’. Residents noticed the board a couple of days ago and initially thought it was part of the ongoing internal race within the Congress party for the chief ministerial post. However, the board went viral after the CCTV footage surfaced in the public domain.
Social Media and Initial Reactions
According to reports, Mohammed had even posted the photo of the flex board on social media platforms. When the CCTV footage emerged, Mohammed initially tried to defend his action by claiming that he was trying to engineer a ‘revolution’ within the Congress party. However, later he admitted that he was not aware that the CCTV camera there was functional.
Congress Allegations
The Congress party has alleged that Mohammed placed the flex board with the connivance of the CPM leadership and that the intention was to create a rift within the Congress. District Congress Committee president Joseph Tajet said, "This will not diminish the glory of the United Democratic Front's victory. The incident indicates that the CPM is not yet ready to learn from the massive drubbing they received from the voters and is sticking to its deceitful tactics. This is not an isolated incident. Mohammed has sent his message in the party group, which means that his action had the consent of the party leadership."
Police Case and CPM Response
Based on the Congress party's complaint, the police have registered a case against Mohammed for ‘intentionally provoking a riot’. The CPM district secretary, K V Abdul Khader, however, sought to distance the party from the flex board controversy and said that action will be taken against Mohammed as he has acted against the party stance. Khader stated that the selection of a new chief minister is the Congress party's internal issue and the CPM is not a party to that. "This is a totally wrong action. The party has called for an explanation from Mohammed. The Nattika CPM area committee has been asked to take further actions," Khader added.
