Now Reading: Kerala CM admits knowing MDMA accused, denies censorship
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Kerala CM admits knowing MDMA accused, denies censorship
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Thursday admitted knowing two men arrested in the Kasaragod MDMA case, including a Youth Congress activist. He denied allegations that his office asked Meta to remove…
The Story in Brief
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Thursday admitted knowing two men arrested in the Kasaragod MDMA case, including a Youth Congress activist. He denied allegations that his office asked Meta to remove news reports and posts critical of him. The clarification came after Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan accused the UDF government of an 'undeclared social media emergency' following the removal of posts and reports about the arrest.
Satheesan said Muhammad Hussain was not part of his social media team and that his office had only asked Meta to restore the CMO Kerala Instagram account. The CM offered to write to Meta requesting that posts criticising him not be taken down. The CPM's P. Rajeeve accused the government of misusing the IT Act 2021 to suppress press freedom. The government is yet to issue an official response to the allegations.
The Indian Opinion
The row over Meta removing posts has become a convenient political sideshow. CPM cries 'undeclared emergency' but offers no proof that the Chief Minister's office triggered the takedowns. At the same time, CM Satheesan admitting he personally knew a drug case accused and visiting him at home is a legitimate conflict-of-interest question. Neither side wants to talk about the actual drug probe or who the accused's links really were. The test will be whether Meta publishes a transparency report for India showing who requested those removals.
Sources (2): thehindu.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
