A CPM panchayat member at Mayyil in the Kannur district has allegedly denied work for women who refuse to participate in the People's Resistance March.
A voice note sent by AP Suchithra to a WhatsApp group of female workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has gone viral putting the CPM on a backfoot.
The Orappadi-ward member is heard urging the workers to skip the day's work to participate in the CPM march. The consequence of not following the instruction, Suchithra says in her voice note, will be losing further work under the scheme.
"Dear ones, tomorrow a programme of our Govindan Master's march is at Taliparamba in the morning. All 'thozhilurap' workers must attend. We don't have a muster roll in our ward. Elsewhere, those who have work have taken leave to attend. No one must skip it," Suchithra says in her voice note.
"If anyone can't attend, tell them to call me, I'll give them the answer. For those who won't attend, we'll think about their next work," she warns.
Apparently, this is not the first time, the CPM has denied work for MGNREGS workers who fail to join the party's events.
Earlier this year, Onmanorama had reported the plight of a group of workers in the Padiyoor grama panchayat in Kannur.
Meanwhile, CPM state secretary MV Govindan, who is leading the statewide march, has refuted the allegation. He said the CPM does not need to issue threats to assemble people for a march.
The CPM at Perambra in Kozhikode has also landed in trouble for using a government school bus to transport people to the march. The Congress has filed a complaint with the education department over the Kozhikode incident.
