Insta
Suppressing Press Freedom: Kerala CM Vijayan Mulls Action Against Journalists Over Coverage Of High-Profile Cases
IANS
Sep 23, 2020, 05:40 PM | Updated 05:40 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
After facing the heat from the media in various high profile cases, the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government decided at a state cabinet meeting on Wednesday to take action against the mediapersons.
Advice was sought from the legal authorities on the way forward and it has been decided to take legal action under the CrPC, said sources.
The Vijayan government faced flak after a fire broke out in the General Administration Department (GAD) in the state Secretariat last month. As the news of the fire spread, top leaders of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) arrived outside the Secretariat and a tiff broke out between the security personnel and the leaders as no one was allowed inside the Secretariat.
The entire opposition alleged that crucial files pertaining to the now infamous gold smuggling case were destroyed and the fire was set deliberately to destroy evidence.
The media also had a field day latching on to the opposition allegations.
On Tuesday (22 September), Vijayan said there were two separate teams probing the incident and one of them had submitted its report while the report of the other team was awaited.
According to the legal advice that the Vijayan government has reportedly received, the government can proceed with criminal defamation suits and can also approach the Press Council of India.
Reacting to the news, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said if this happens it would not be acceptable in a country where freedom of press prevails.
“This is sheer intolerance and nothing else. Will anyone forget the travails that the previous Oommen Chandy government faced. If this government goes ahead with it, it would be the first time that a government here will be doing this,” said Chennithala.
Vijayan became the first Chief Minister of Kerala to have cancelled the weekly cabinet media briefing after he assumed office in May 2016. He has also asked the media not to come looking for television bytes while he was on the move. He has made it very clear that the Chief Minister would speak only when he wants to and not when the media wants it.
Vijayan had lost his temper at the media earlier also. He had said, “Kadeku Purethu” (get out) when television cameramen were taking shots of a meeting which was about to begin between him and the leaders of the BJP/RSS that was held in the state capital at a hotel in August 2017.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.