Keezhattoor agitation: Stir finds echo in social media

Kannur: The Keezhattoor agitation and the attempts by the CPM to retain its citadel has triggered off discussions in social networking sites with a section supporting the CPM saying that the Keezhattoor agitation had been hijacked by the BJP and Congress with the connivance of their leadership.  But the supporters of the farmers said that the presence of a few leaders at the venue of the agitation did not mean their agitation had been hijacked. Social networking sites are abuzz with a series of allegations against the protestors in general and Suresh Keezhattoor, the face of the agitation, as being a real estate player.

A section of pro-CPM online campaigners alleged that the presence of BJP representative actor Suresh Gopi at the venue was a proof of the deviation of the agitation towards the right.  ‘Anti-national elements like the RSS, Jamaat-e-Islami, Solidarity and Popular Front” crowded the space on the day, rather than farmers, said many of the posts.    An online magazine also hit out at Suresh Keezhattoor as a real estate broker who came up in the garb of an activist and was a tool in the hands of anti-CPM elements.

However Vayalkkilikal, the action council, came out vehemently against the criticism, saying that the council would not deny the entry of any party to the venue. Suresh Keezhattoor in a Facebook post said that when an agitation became a mass movement, there would be many elements who wanted to be a part of it. “That does not mean that the movement has been hijacked by them”, he said.  He pointed out that even a party like the Shiv Sena had expressed solidarity with the agitation of farmers led by All-India Kissan Sabha in Maharashtra. “Does it mean that the agitation has been hijacked by them?” he asked.