THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Panoor bomb blast, which took place during the progress of the Chief Minister's Malabar tour, was a major blow to the CPM and the LDF, who were attacking the UDF and the BJP by raising the double standards and the neglect of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The opposition is using this as a weapon to attack the party at the peak of the election campaign.

Two local leaders of the party attending the funeral ceremony of Sherin created controversy as the opposition levelled accusations that Sherin, who was killed in the blast during bomb-making in Panoor, and the injured and those arrested, were CPM workers. The visit of the local leaders came after State Secretary MV Govindan clarified that the bomb makers had no connection with the party and had attacked party workers.

Party state committee member P Jayarajan's reply that the party did not participate in the funeral ceremony as an organization and that the party has not prohibited anyone from going personally to the funeral was also not satisfactory.

The opposition is portraying the Panoor incident as a continuation of CPM's violent politics. That too, while trying to rekindle anti-CPM sentiment in the Malabar region, especially in the Vatakara and Kozhikode constituencies, in connection with the TP Chandrasekaran murder case. KK Rama MLA is also active in this regard.

Main target: Vatakara

KK Shailaja had filed a complaint against Congress's move to personally attack her, who is the Left candidate in Vatakara. Meanwhile, the UDF is raising allegations that Shailaja has links with the accused in the Panoor bomb blast case. They are circulating a photograph of the murdered Sherin and Shailaja together across the constituency. However, Shailaja replied that as an MLA, she may have taken photos with many people in many functions and she has no connection with the accused. The CPM is of the opinion that the opposition's move to stir up sentiment again after many years on account of the TP murder case will not make an impact on the people.

The LDF points out that the re-appointment of senior medical officer Anitha, who was transferred to Idukki for standing with the victim of abuse in the Kozhikode Medical Collegeabuse case, is proof that the government has taken into account the public sentiment, albeit late. The government dropped its stubbornness and arrogance after a strong protest was raised in this regard and the media, including the Kerala Kaumudi editorial, reflected the sentiments of the people.