Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has criticised senior CPI(M) leader V.S. Achuthanandan, who spearheads the Left Democratic Front campaign, for misusing for political gain the rape-and-murder of the 29-year-old Dalit woman, Jisha, last week.
Chandy in his Facebook post on Thursday attacked Achuthanandan for his Wednesday remarks in his own Facebook post that sought to put the government on the defensive for the murder. Referring to Achtuthanandan’s visit to Jisha’s grieving mother and his comments in his post, Chandy alleged that the former was misusing the incident for `temporary political gain.’ “Is it not unethical to make such political exploitation?” Chandy, who leads the United Democratic Front campaign for the May 16 Assembly election, asked Achuthanandan.
Ever since the campaign began, both Chandy and Achuthanandan have been very active on Facebook making charges and counter-charges at each other. Both leaders paid visits, amid media publicity, to Jisha’s mother who has been in hospital after her daughter’s brutal murder on Thursday last.
Congress Party’s State president V.M. Sudheeran has urged all political parties not to turn the murder into a political issue even as commentators on social media have fiercely attacked the political leaders and election candidates for misusing the tragic rape-and-murder of an impoverished and helpless Dalit woman for electoral gains. A stream of politicians, including those from Delhi, have visited Jisha’s mother. The head of the government taluk hospital at Perumbvaur where she is admitted was on Wednesday forced to make a public appeal to leave the sick mother alone and thus help her recover from her deep grief. Ernakulam District Collector Rajamanickam also said those visiting Jisha’s mother was doing it for publicity.
Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot, National Commission for Scheduled Castes P.L. Punia and National Commision for Women Lalitha Kumaramangalam visited the mother on Wednesday, apart from a host of State Ministers, politicians and party leaders.
MODIS’ VISIT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be addressing an election rally at Palakkad on Thursday, is expected to make a reference to Jisha’s murder which was raised in Parliament early this week. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who will be campaigning extensively on Friday and Saturday and other Union Ministers such as Venkaiah Naidu and Smriti Irani also expected to raise the issue in their campaign speeches.