Kerala | Puthuppally bypoll: 'Are my dresses, sandals issues?', asks Chandy's daughter Achu

Former Kerala Chief Minister late Oommen Chandy's younger daughter Achu Oommen on Saturday (August 26) strongly condemned the ongoing cyber attacks against her in the backdrop of the upcoming Puthuppally bypoll and said it was to divert attention from the current issues of "corruption and inflation" in the state.

Achu said she had been working as a content creator in the fashion and travel sector for some years and her photos taken as part of her job were misused on cyber platforms by vested interest with a deliberate intention to malign her father's reputation.

"Oommen Chandy was a leader who was hunted down (by political opponents) when he was alive. After his death, his children are being targetted," she told reporters in Puthupally.

She said she had not made any gain in her personal life by misusing her father's name.

As the campaign has intensified in Puthuppally where a bypoll is scheduled on September 5, the personal life of candidates, their close relatives and assets were made topic of discussion by some online media groups.

Achu said as people of Puthuppally know Oommen Chandy's family very well, they won't believe such false propaganda.

Achu's brother Chandy Oommen is the Congress-UDF candidate in Puthuppally.

"Are my dresses and sandals the issues of Kerala now? If such campaigns are not there, they (authorities) would have to give answers in many other issues. So, the ongoing propaganda is to divert attention from corruption and inflation which the state is suffering from," she said.

When asked whether she would initiate any legal measures against such cyber campaigners, Achu said she won't lodge any complaint against such "faceless" people.

Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that the ruling CPI(M) activists were behind such cyber attacks against Chandy's family.

They also accused the party leadership of having clear knowledge about it.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan strongly condemned the cyber attacks and alleged the Marxist party was propagating Achu's photos with malicious captions.

"Achu is working as a content creator. The photos, she posted in her Instagram account as part of her job, are propagated by the cyber goons of the CPI(M) with filthy captions," he alleged in a statement.

They were insulting her without giving a consideration that she was the daughter of late Chandy, he further said, adding the ruling party would fail in the Puthuppally bypoll despite whatever propaganda is being unleashed by them.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) candidate Jaik C Thomas criticised the cyber attacks against Achu and said personal insults and humiliation against anyone could not be accepted.

Whether it was against the former CM's daughter or against the present CM's daughter, it cannot be accepted, he added.

A bypoll was necessitated in Puthuppally following the demise of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy due to cancer last month.

(With agency inputs)