Thiruvananthapuram/Kannur | Expressing concern over the police action against certain media houses in Kerala, former Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadeker on Wednesday said that freedom of the press was under attack in the state and accused the Left front government of "terrorising the media" for exposing its alleged wrongdoings.
A similar sentiment was expressed by the Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala that said the ruling CPI(M) was "hunting down" media houses and reporters who criticise the state government.
Referring to the cases registered against a woman reporter of a prominent Malayalam news channel in Kochi a few weeks ago and the recent police action against a Thiruvananthapuram-based online news channel and its employees, Javadekar alleged that those were the "first kind of terrorism against the media" in the southern state.
He said the actions of the Left government against the media and media personnel clearly showed its "political vendetta" against those who expose the alleged wrongdoings of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led dispensation.
"This is clearly a political vendetta and an attack on freedom of the press. This is the Kerala government's effort to terrorise the media. This is condemnable," Javadekar told PTI.
The statement of the BJP Kerala in-charge came amid police action against a Malayalam online news channel as part of an investigation to trace its editor following a case filed against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by an MLA belonging to the ruling Left front.
Police said their teams carried out searches at the offices of 'Marunadan Malayali' in Thiruvananthapuram and an office-cum-residence in Kochi on Monday night and seized computers and memory cards as part of their investigation to find out the whereabouts of its absconding editor, Shajan Skaria.
The police intensified the action against the online channel, days after the Kerala High Court dismissed Skaria's anticipatory bail plea in the complaint lodged with the Elamakkara police by Left MLA P V Sreenijin, who represents Kunnathunad constituency.
Referring to the police action against the online channel, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that the CPI(M) was misusing the police.
He questioned why the homes of the journalists working in the online channel were raided and their personal computers seized.
Satheesan said if wrong reporting was the reason for the raids and seizures, why such action was not taken against the CPI(M) mouthpiece or its reporter who gave a false news connecting KPCC chief K Sudhakaran with a POCSO case.
The CPI(M) mouthpiece, last month, had reported that the victim in a POCSO case, in which controversial self-styled antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal was sentenced to life in jail, has given a statement that Sudhakaran was present at one of the places where she was raped.
This news report was also highlighted by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan.
However, in a major setback for Govindan and CPI(M), the Crime Branch had said no such statement was ever made.
Satheesan also questioned why in these circumstances no action was taken against the newspaper and its reporter.
"Then why no action was taken against the CPI(M) mouthpiece and its reporter? Have the police been able to identify the reporter who wrote that false news? Why was the home of that reporter not raided? "Why is his/her computer not seized? Is the CPI(M) taking a stand that online media that they do not like are not required in the state?" he asked while speaking to reporters here.
"The CPI(M) is hunting media houses and reporters who criticise it or the state government and the police are having double standards," he added.
Satheesan claimed that one of the leaders of the Left party was going around naming media houses which would be targeted next.
Meanwhile, Left MLA P V Anvar, representing Nilambur constituency in the Assembly, warned of strong legal action against those media houses indulging in alleged blackmailing, spreading fake news, and creating communal divides in society.
"Be it mainstream media, YouTube channels... whoever it is, legally everything possible will be done against them," Anvar said in a Facebook post.
"We will fight against them using all the possibilities of the law. If possible we will register FIRs against such media houses. The organising committee (a reference to a team of people involved in the action against the media) has decided to create such an eco-system (in Kerala)", he said.
Flaying the police action against the employees of the media, the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club urged the state government to back off from the move to "destroy" the fourth estate for giving news that is not favourable to them.
It alleged that about 10 employees of the online media were taken into custody, its offices were closed, and at least 32 laptops, 10 computers, seven cameras, 12 mobile phones, and other devices were seized.
The detained employees were released on Tuesday afternoon, the press club claimed.
Hitting back at the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club, which had deplored the government action against the media persons, Anvar said their cries would not be heard and made it clear that those who carry out responsible journalism will not face any retaliation.
When contacted, Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethuraman told PTI that the raids at the online news channel's office and related actions were part of the investigation to trace its absconding editor and were not a "crackdown" on the activities of the establishment.
After MLA Sreenijin lodged a complaint with the police alleging that the online media channel deliberately defamed him by spreading fake news, Skaria moved the Special Court seeking protection from arrest.
The Special Court dismissed the plea, saying that publication of the video containing derisive and derogatory comments, is sufficient to attract the alleged offences, and hence, the bar on anticipatory bail under Section 18 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act would apply.
Skaria then moved the High Court, but it upheld the Sessions Court order, making scathing observations against the online news channel's style of functioning.
