Thiruvananthapuram.13 August(HS): Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Thursday rejected Opposition allegations that his office had links with the drug mafia and had pressured Meta to remove social media posts critical of him.

Addressing reporters after a Cabinet meeting, Satheesan acknowledged knowing Muhammad Hussain and P A Abdul Salam, who were arrested in Kasaragod with MDMA, but denied protecting them or giving Hussain any official social media role.

The Chief Minister said he first contacted Hussain after the Youth Congress worker was injured during violence connected with the Nava Kerala Sadas at Kuruppampady in Perumbavoor. Satheesan, then Opposition Leader, called him in hospital and later visited his home while attending a nearby programme.

He said subsequent meetings with Hussain were solely because he regarded him as a victim of police brutality. Neither party workers nor the public knew of his alleged criminal activities until his arrest, Satheesan said.

Pointing out that Hussain was arrested and remanded under Operation Toofan, the Chief Minister said the case demonstrated that his government had made no attempt to shield him. He also dismissed claims that Hussain was his social media coordinator, saying he had neither maintained such a team as Opposition Leader nor appointed one after becoming Chief Minister.

Responding to CPM state secretary M V Govindan’s description of the Chief Minister’s Office as a ‘den of the drug mafia’, Satheesan called him the Congress’s ‘good luck charm’ and accused him of indirectly reviving memories of controversies during former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure.

Satheesan also denied using alleged links with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to persuade Meta to delete critical posts published by media organisations. He said his office had contacted Meta only to seek restoration of the CMO Keralam Instagram page, which remained unavailable even after two months.

The Chief Minister said several posts supporting him had also been removed, including remarks by Latin Archbishop Thomas J Netto, visuals of his visit with Forest Minister Shibu Baby John to Gautam Krishna’s home, and a Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council statement.

He suggested the removals could reflect a broader, indiscriminate policy affecting Opposition-ruled states. Urging media organisations to seek restoration of deleted content, Satheesan offered full government support and said he was prepared to write formally to Meta requesting that posts criticising him not be removed.

Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman