Congress approaches Press Council of India seeking action against CPI(M) mouthpiece

The Congress in Kerala on Saturday lodged a complaint with the Press Council of India (PCI) against the ruling CPI(M)'s mouthpiece in the state for allegedly publishing fake news about its leaders. The Congress alleged that the CPI(M) mouthpiece carried an article on April 18 accusing it of carrying out an obscene campaign against Left candidates.

A caricature, published along with the report, features photos of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President, Leader of Opposition in Kerala, UDF Candidate of Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, and others holding a digital device, indicating that they were spreading "extremely derogatory morphed porn videos", it alleged. The complaint was lodged by Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan. Alleging that the article was intended to malign and destroy the opposition leaders in Kerala, he further charged that it was "political in nature", with the goal of gaining an unfair edge in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The LoP, in the complaint, sought urgent action against the CPI(M) mouthpiece for publishing "extremely derogatory, indecent, and baseless news" against the Indian National Congress and its leaders by invoking Section 14 of the Press Council Act 1978. The LoP's complaint has come in the wake of an ongoing war of words between leaders of the CPI(M) and the Congress over an alleged social media campaign against the popular LDF Lok Sabha poll candidate in Vatakara, former health minister K K Shailaja.