CPI(M) Kerala State secretariat member and former MLA M. Swaraj has accused “the Jamaat faction of the Indian Union Muslim League” (IUML) of spreading fake news through both fake Facebook accounts and their original accounts, alleging that they forged a social media card in the name of the CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani to claim he met “a communalist.” He said legal action would be taken against “such false propaganda.”

In a Facebook post, Mr. Swaraj, also the Resident Editor of Deshabhimani, denied meeting Pratheesh Viswanath, a right-wing activist, and described the episode as part of a long-running campaign by the Jamaat faction within the IUML to portray him as a “Hindu communalist.” The clarification followed circulation of a card on social media attributing to him a statement that Mr. Viswanath had visited him out of friendship and that it should not be made controversial.