From correspondents in India, 01:35 PM IST

Noted writer Paul Zachariah has invited the wrath of pro-Left organisations in Kerala for his comments that the controversy over the banning of colas was a result of vested interests by a section of the media.

A. Pradeep Kumar, president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) the youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), derided the author's comments saying Zachariah has the knack of hogging headlines through this type of reaction.

n

'This is nothing beyond a publicity stunt by the writer. It is also a ploy for deviating things through such comments,' said Kumar, now also a CPI-M legislator.

n

Zachariah, while taking part in a book release function at Kannur Monday evening, said it appeared that the present issue over banning colas was nothing but a creation of a section of the media to better their interest.

n

'Cola might be consumed by a mere 50,000, but liquor is being consumed by more than 10 times that figure in the state. Certain agendas are being thrust through false campaigns,' he remarked.

n

Young CPI-M legislator P. Krishnaprasad also slammed his remarks.

n

Both the youth legislators defended the action of the DYFI activists who have been ransacking go-downs of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in the state following the Kerala High Court verdict on Friday lifting the ban on colas in Kerala.

n

'The verdict was purchased and the attack on the go-downs nothing but a spontaneous protest. Actually it is the court and the cola companies who are responsible for the attacks,' said Kumar.

n

He said that the attacks were not going to send bad signals to prospective investors.

n

Zachariah won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his short story collection 'Zachariyayute Kathakal' in 2004.

n

- Indo Asian News Service

(Staff Writer, © IANS)