Thiruvananthapuram: CPM’s decision to exclude K K Shailaja from the second Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet has sparked protests across the state and social media.
Pro-CPM cyber groups and party sympathizers, too, decried the decision. “Porali Shaji’ and ‘PJ Army’, two prominent pro-CPM groups on social media, registered their protest, posting just one word, ‘koppu’, a slang reflecting strong disapproval, loosely translated as ‘damn.’
Soon after the one-word protest, a detailed note was posted, demanding the CPM to recall the ‘teacher’ like the way the party had changed its decision on gauging the public anger at Kuttiady.
The CPM had decided to forgo the Kuttiady Assembly constituency to accommodate Kerala Congress (M), but retracted after CPM workers hit the streets in protest.
“The teacher’s role was remarkable in keeping Kerala afloat, even as the pandemic suffocated the world. The mortality rate would have gone up if the health sector had failed, and perhaps (LDF) would not have got a second consecutive chance in power. The decision is sure to pain several mothers,” the explanatory post said, while another one asked for one more chance for the teacher.
The PJ Army, a cyber collective supporting P Jayarajan, had earlier caused discomfort to the party several times.
Dr K P Aravindan, former state president of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, criticized the CPM for its refusal to field T M Thomas Isaac in the polls and the denial of one more chance to Shailaja.
He said in a social media post that the decisions were bad since they did not honour the wishes of the people.
Writer Manu S Pillai, Tamil writer and activist Meena Kandaswamy, filmmaker Ranjith Shankar, actor Vineeth Sreenivasan, singer Sayanora, television anchor Ranjini Haridas, et al., too, came out in support of Shailaja.
Netizens launch hashtag campaign
Thiruvananthapuram: Netizens launched hashtag campaigns, #BringBackShailajaTeacher and #BringOurTeacherBack, demanding the inclusion of K K Shailaja in the new cabinet.
Actors Parvathy Thiruvothu, Rima Kallingal, filmmaker Geetu Mohandas, and singer Vidhu Pratap, too, were among those who raised the same demand.
Parvathy said the party’s decision could not be justified. Shashi Tharoor, MP, said he was “Sorry to see K K Shailaja teacher leave the Kerala cabinet.”
