Chennithala likens Pinarayi’s ‘intolerance’ to that of Yogi

Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 135 criminal cases have been registered for defaming chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other LDF ministers in the state.
While 119 cases were registered till mid-January 2019, police sources said at least 16 more cases were registered in the following months.
Out of the accused in 119 cases, 12 were state government employees and one, a central government employee.
State government employees involved in the alleged social medial abuse of chief minister were suspended by the government led by CPM, which has been projecting itself as an advocate of creative freedom.
Another 29 government employees, against whom criminal cases were not registered, had been subjected to department-level disciplinary action for violating service rules.
Most of the defamation cases pertained to forwarding of trolls through Facebook and WhatsApp, while a few cases pertained to the posting of personal and abusive messages.
The assault against Vijayan on social media peaked post Supreme Court’s verdict allowing women to pray in Sabarimala. Police registered 38 cases against 56 persons, who defamed the chief minister on the Sabarimala issue, and 26 of them were arrested and later let out on bail.
Police received 11 complaints of abusive posts against opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on the Sabarimala issue: three cases were registered.
The data of cases, up to January, was tabled in the state assembly in reply to a question. While participating in debate on an adjournment motion notice on Monday, Chennithala pointed out the issue and alleged that Vijayan was behaving like UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath by booking innocents who criticized him.