"Will Cut Off Your Hands”: CPM Workers Raise Slogans With Threats Against MediaOne Managing Editor

CPI(M) workers in Kerala's Wandoor have raised death threats against MediaOne Managing Editor C. Dawood. On Thursday, the CPI(M) Wandoor Area Committee's protest saw the raising of threatening slogans, among them a threat to amputate C. Dawood's hand.

During the protest rally, C. Dawood was subjected to derogatory abuse by protesters who accused him of "spreading lies" about the party. The protest was organised in opposition to the remark related to the speech made in the Kerala Legislative Assembly by former MLA N. Kannan. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) State Committee strongly denounced the incident, describing the slogans as “highly objectionable.”

"Publicly declaring that a journalist should be physically eliminated is shameful for a party like CPI(M),” the statement released by the journalist union reportedly read. Congress leaders have also strongly condemned the threatening slogan targeting the managing editor of MediaOne. Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan questioned whether Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the police have the courage to take legal action against those who chanted the threatening slogan.

KPCC President Sunny Joseph denounced the act as a serious assault on press freedom, noting that such explicit threats constitute a criminal offence. Sunny Joseph called on the police to take immediate and appropriate legal action. Congress leader K. Muraleedharan said that the CPM’s policy is to eliminate those who oppose them. Meanwhile, Ramesh Chennithala demanded that the CPI(M) withdraw the threatening slogan and issue an apology.