TN leaders hit out at State media for bias

A day after the media went gung-ho over reports of an electoral alliance between the ruling AIADMK and the BJP, leaders of many parties blamed the Tamil Nadu media for its partisan approach in news coverage.

“Anti-nationals, Lefts, Tamil secessionists and extremist elements have an upper hand in Tamil Nadu media. They are experts in masquerading wolves as sheep and sheep as wolves,” alleged Tiruppati Narayanan, spokesman of Tamil Nadu BJP. He said the portrayal of the Namathu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (the official mouthpiece of the AIADMK) article as possible electoral alliance between the two parties was yet another proof of distortion of facts by the Tamil Nadu media.

An article in Sunday’s NPTA authored by a lower wrung functionary of the AIADMK had said that the party and the BJP were functioning like  double barrelled gun and efforts of the DMK to create a wedge between the two parties would not succeed. The article resulted in the termination of services of two members of the NPTA editorial staff.

“The media in Tamil Nadu has a hidden agenda. Though the AIADMK government under the leadership of Edappadi Palaniswamy  and O Panneerselvam is implementing many social welfare measures and programmes, it is shocking to see that the media ignoring it and projecting falsehoods and fake news to tarnish the image of the government,” said Singai G Ramachandran, who heads the social media wing of the AIADMK.

Narayanan was blunt in his view that the media, especially the visual media in Tamil Nadu is dominated by Dravidian and Left activists. “I am seriously considering about staying away from panel discussions aired by the satellite TV channels. Their only agenda seems to be to tarnish the image of the Prime Minister and the BJP. As the spokesman of the BJP, I am never given a chance to reply to their charges. Even anchor persons take sides with the rivals of the BJP,” he said.

Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, the chief ministerial candidate of the PMK, has repeatedly charged that the media in the State was not fair in  their news coverages.

V Anbazhagan, president, Chennai Union of Journalists, described as baseless the charges made by the AIADMK and the BJP leaders. “The Prime Minister in his election campaign had promised to deposit a sum of Rs 15 lakhs in the bank account of every citizen of this country. We would be happy if the government could clarify whether reporting this would qualify as fake news,” said Anbazhagan.

But a special branch police officer confided to The Pioneer that some of the social media groups administered by the self-styled media leaders were full of anti-India and anti-Prime Minister campaigns. “I can understand if the social media groups run by the opposition parties lambast the Centre and State governments. Journalists are supposed to be impartial but it is not the case in Tamil Nadu,” said the official.

Vanathi Srinivasan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu BJP, said that she was shocked by the callous attitude of the media in not publishing the news about the plotting by Islamic terrorists to assassinate the Prime Minister. “Only one Tamil daily chose to publish  the report. Isn’t this distorting and destruction of news,?” asked Srinivasan.  Mohammed Rafiq, a Al Ummah activist and former convict in the Coimbatore serial bomb blast case of 1998 was arrested by the Police on Monday for plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister.