Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 13 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Thursday admitted that he knew two youths, including a Youth Congress activist, arrested with MDMA, but denied allegations that his office had recommended to Meta the removal of news reports criticising him.
Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday accused the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala of “undeclared social media censorship” over the alleged removal of reports on the arrest of a person claiming to be Satheesan’s social media coordinator in a drug case at Kasaragod.
Responding to queries at a press conference, Satheesan said he personally knew the two arrested persons, Muhammad Hussain and Abdul Salam.
“First, I personally know the two people who were arrested. I personally know Muhammad Hussain and Abdul Salam. Among them, Muhammad Hussain was a Youth Congress activist,” he said.
Satheesan said he first called Hussain after he suffered severe injuries in a police lathi charge in front of MGM School at Kuruppampady in Perumbavoor during the Nava Kerala Sadas led by then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Later, when he went to attend a programme in Vengola Panchayat, along with the MLA and local party workers, they all suggested that he should visit Hussain.
“There are photos of me meeting him at his home. After that, he came to meet me three or four times at various places. Every time, we showed him the consideration one naturally extends to someone injured in a police assault,” he added.
Satheesan said neither the local party workers nor the public knew about Hussain’s alleged involvement in the drug case at that time.
“We only knew when the arrest happened; otherwise, nobody knew about it,” he said.
He also denied that Hussain was part of his social media team.
“Furthermore, he is not part of my social media team. Even when I was the Leader of the Opposition, I didn’t have a social media team, nor do I have one now. I haven’t appointed a coordinator anywhere. Now, if individuals join various forums as members, what can we do about it?” Satheesan asked.
On the allegations concerning Meta, Satheesan said his office had made only one request to the company — to restore the official Instagram account of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO Kerala) — but it had not been restored even after two months.
He said several posts favourable to him had also been removed from social media.
He cited as examples a speech by the Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram during the 700th anniversary of the Kollam Diocese, in which the Archbishop praised his intervention into issues concerning the fishing community; a video of Satheesan and Shibu Baby John visiting missin fisherman Gautham Krishna’s house; and a post carrying his photograph along with a KCBC statement supporting the Chief Minister and urging people not to engage in politics during relief operations.
He said similar removals had also occurred in connection with content concerning the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.
“If your news reports or online media posts have been removed, you should make efforts to get them restored. The government will support you in that. The government can write a letter if needed. I can write a letter to Meta if needed, stating that posts criticising me should not be removed. I am ready to do that,” he said.
Responding to allegations that Rathan U Kelkar, while serving as Kerala Chief Electoral Officer, had earlier intervened with Meta over the removal of an interview given by him when he was the Leader of the Opposition, and that the same officer, who is currently with the Chief Minister’s Office, could have acted in the present incidents, Satheesan categorically denied it.
Recalling the earlier incident, Satheesan said an interview he had given to a news channel was removed following a complaint during the election period and was subsequently restored after authorities found nothing objectionable in it.
He also rejected the suggestion that his office could influence Meta to remove content published by news organisations.
“Do you think I am such a fool to believe that by having Meta remove 10 posts, we can gag the media and social media in Kerala? What do you take me for?” he asked.
“This is happening in an undeclared manner. We saw news that Meta apologised to the Prime Minister, and it has been happening since then across India — not just in Kerala,” he said. PTI TBA TBA ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.