Alappuzha: Two left leaders, including a legislator, are at odds over a sand mining issue in Thottapally in the coastal Alappuzha district.

The verbal sparring between Ambalapuzha legislator H Salam, belonging to the CPM, and CPI district secretary T J Anjalose over social media on the matter has snowballed into a crisis for the Left Democratic Front in Alappuzha district. It has led to an acrimonious cyber warfare between the rank and file of both the CPM and the CPI.

The CPI district secretary came up with the first troll. While tagging the news of the CPM MLA and supporters blocking the sand mining activity, Anjalose commented, "World Laughter Day is on the first Sunday of May".

In his post, Salam countered it by saying, "Permission could not be taken from the CPI district secretary, a great leader. Lion, please forgive."

In reply, Anjalose posted pictures of two court summons with the caption "Ormakal Undayirikkanam". These summons were received earlier by Anjalose and Ambalapuzha CPI mandalam secretary E K Jayan respectively for taking part in the anti-sand mining agitation. Anjalose's subtle message was that CPM and the MLA then supported sand mining.

After an hour, Anjalose posted the pictures of ongoing sand mining activities in Thottappally with a caption, "Today's morning scene from Thottapally. Lions do not have thick skin. It is not a troll."

The eruption of cyber warfare between the workers of both the parties soon after the verbal sparring between the two leaders has acquired the dimension of a local tug of war between the two parties. Some others are commenting in social media by criticising both the CPM and the CPI for fighting each other while remaining in the same front.

Those supporting MLA claimed that they blocked the sand mining after finding the violation of the earlier promise of redepositing the sand in the same sandbank after segregation of minerals by the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML).

But the CPI pointed out that the party launched the agitation earlier itself, citing all these reasons.

It alleged that the MLA began agitation in order to quell any kind of protests from the local people against the CPM's stand on sand mining when the party's ongoing "pada yatra" in the constituency reaches there.