Kottayam: A member of the panchayat has issued a threat, stating that workers under the National Rural Employment Scheme (NREGA) will lose job opportunities unless they take part in the campaign program of Jaick C Thomas, the LDF candidate running in Puthupally. The individual behind this threat is Sunitha Dipu, who holds a position in the Kuttikal ward of Pambadi Panchayat. She threatened to deny the workers guaranteed job.
The workers were instructed to take part in the Women’s Assembly, which was inaugurated by Subhashini Ali, a member of the CPI(M) Central Committee. However, when one of the workers named Shantamma declined to participate, Sunitha threatened her. The event took place in Pambadi. Jaick C Thomas chose not to respond directly to the question concerning the threat.
On the other hand, Sunitha claims that Shanta lodged the complaint under pressure from members of the UDF. This pattern of laborers being forced into attending programs organized by the CPI(M) is a routine occurrence in the state. There was a previous incident that had hit the headlines, where the CPI(M) had allegedly used threats to force people into participating in the ‘Janakeeya Prathirodha Yatra’ led by the state secretary, MV Govindan.
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