Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan accuses CPI(M) of orchestrating vilification campaign against UDF government

Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of orchestrating a vilification campaign against the United Democratic Front (UDF) government.

Mr. As the de facto owner of the port, had put the business group on notice for keeping the State out of the loop, and the UDF learned of the move belatedly through SEBI.

“The Adani Ports apologised to the administration, satheesan said the CPI(M) accusation, parroted by a number of television news channels, that the government had not protested against the Adani Port’s contentious sale of 49% of shares of the Vizhinjam International Port to Mediterranean Shipping Business (MSC), a major shipping firm, was patently false and aimed at portraying the UDF government as a corporate collaborator.

He noted the government. The UDF government will stringently adhere to the concession agreement. It mandates that the operating business cannot transfer the ownership or change the equity structure without the approval of the State, which is the concessioning authority,” he added.

Mr. Satheesan said he was not aware of the veracity or contemporariness of an RTI reply that the administration had not conveyed its disapproval over the breach of contract to Adani Ports.

On Meta taking down posts

Mr. Satheesan also denied the CPI(M) State Secretariat’s accusation that the UDF administration had legally petitioned Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, to take down posts that criticised or lampooned the UDF government.

CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) accused Mr. Satheesan of clamping down a “media emergency” in Kerala by persuading Meta to take down 1,85,000 posts critical of the UDF government. He had also accused the administration of taking down an Instagram reel made by children, members of the pro-CPI(M) Balasanghom. It had elicited 25 lakh views, out of political spite.

Mr. Satheesan said the administration has not demanded Meta that any post be taken down. “Meta’s reply to some news channels clearly states that the firm had taken down the posts flagged as a legal requirement by its software algorithm,” he said.

Mr. Satheesan invited aggrieved parties, including news channels, to petition or sue Meta for taking down their social media posts arbitrarily and without any perceptible legal requirement, such as libel or incendiary provocations that disrupt public peace. “The government will stand and legally back the aggrieved parties, including those who have relentlessly posted posts lampooning me,” he added.