Amidst the row over a journalist's arrest in Uttar Pradesh over a social media post, Kerala government has admitted that cases were slapped on 119 people for posting objectionable comments on social media against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the past three years. The information was revealed by the Chief Minister himself in the state assembly.

In response to a query raised by the deputy leader of Opposition, MK Muneer, the Chief Minister's Office has said that action has been taken against 41 government employees for abusing the chief minister and other ministers through social media posts. While cases were registered against 12 employees, department-level action was initiated against the remaining 29 people. A case has been registered against one central government employee as well.

Apart from action against government employees, cases have been registered against 106 people over the past three years on similar complaints. Apart from the chief minister and the opposition leader, two cabinet ministers, assembly Speaker and 15 MLAs have filed complaints of abuse on social media platforms.

The state cyber cell has initiated action to verify and remove abusive content from social media platforms and file FIR in such cases.

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