{
  "id": 1732892,
  "title": "Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan accuses CPI(M) of orchestrating vilification campaign against UDF government",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/keralam-chief-minister-v-d-satheesan-accuses-cpi-m-of-orchestrating",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T15:02:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/keralam-chief-minister-vd-satheesan-accuses-cpim-of-orchestrating-vilification-campaign-against-udf-government/article71360692.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kerala's Chief Minister, V.D. Satheesan, has accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) of launching a campaign to vilify his United Democratic Front (UDF) government. Satheesan dismissed the CPI(M) claim, echoed by various television news channels, that the UDF government failed to protest against Adani Port's sale of 49% of Vizhinjam International Port shares to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). Satheesan emphasized that the government, as the effective owner of the port, had notified the business group for keeping the State out of the loop, and UDF discovered the move only after receiving information from SEBI. He also clarified that Adani Ports had apologized to the government and that the UDF government would strictly adhere to the concession agreement, which prohibits the operating company from transferring ownership or altering the equity structure without State approval. Satheesan denied the CPI(M) allegations that the UDF government had petitioned Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, to remove posts criticizing or mocking the UDF government. He also denied any involvement in removing a Meta-released Instagram reel by children from the pro-CPI(M) Balajana Saghyam group, which garnered 25 lakh views, on political grounds. Satheesan stated that the government has not requested Meta to take down any posts and invited aggrieved parties, including news channels, to file complaints or sue Meta for removing their posts without reasonable legal grounds, such as defamation or incitement to public unrest.",
  "summary": "Satheesan says CPI(M) accusation that the government has not protested against the Adani Port’s sale of 49% of shares of the Vizhinjam International Port was false and he was not aware of the veracity or contemporariness of an RTI reply that the government had not conveyed its disapproval over the breach of contract to Adani Ports",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "3News",
        "title": "Government remains committed to lawful, responsible mining - Chief of Staff",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/government-remains-committed-to-lawful-responsible-mining-chief-of",
        "published": "2026-08-18T15:22:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}