Web Edit: Is it love lost between Naveen and media in Orissa?

The relationship started souring since August when newspapers and TV channels alleged that Rajya Sabha MP and his political advisor Kalpataru Das and his MLA son Pranab Balbantray had acquired several flats from Bhubaneswar Development Authority under discretionary quota through false affidavits. Under sustained fire, Kalpataru’s son had to return two of his flats, but soon there were allegations of his involvement in landgrabbing incident on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

The Revenue and disaster management minister too found himself in a controversy after allegations that the house he was staying in Bhubaneswar for last 17 years, was actually allotted to his doctor wife for running a nursing home. The government served notice on the minister while Routray unsuccessfully tried to turn his house into a ‘nursing home’ overnight by hanging a plaque outside. Naveen was embarrassed further when senior party MLA Pravat Tripathy was interrogated by CBI on September 16 evening for over 6 hours.

On September 15 noon, revenue minister Routray turned physical with mediapersons in his chamber when TV crew of a few channels entered his chamber in State Secretariat to seek his views on alleged landgrabbing incidents involving leaders of his party. Routray almost threw the assembled mediapersons out of his chamber.

The TV journalists then sat on dharna outside his room protesting his action. Next day, former party chief whip and Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy was chased by mediapersons when he came out of CBI office after a marathon interrogation session over chit fund group Artha Tatwa. During the chase, Tripathy slipped and fell which led to an altercation between his men and journalists.

The matter may have been forgotten, but for complaints lodged by Routray and Tripathy. In a complaint to home secretary on September 15, Routray said that when he refused to give statement to the TV journalists on landgrabbing issue, they uttered provocative language. “They did not even allow me to go to toilet and threatened me that they would sit in front of my office chamber on strike if I do not give any statement. The incident shows blatant violation of minimum ethics by the electronic mediapersons which also hampers office work. This type of pressure and intimidation by mediapersons inside secretariat chamber of ministers not only creates unhealthy relation, but also hampers normal office work,” said Routray, accusing reporters from two Odia TV channels of pre-planned altercation.

Tripathy, who has sought anticipatory bail from High Court in the chit fund scam, accused the local mediapersons of hounding him out at the behest of his political adversaries. In an impassioned letter to Naveen on September 18, Tripathy alleged that soon after his interrogation by CBI on September 16 night, he was “hounded out by the representatives of visual media and some unknown faces”.

“They forced me to speak despite the fact that I was exhausted after spending many hours and was not in a position to answer plethora of questions some of which did not even pertain to the subject. The manner in which I was obstructed, pushed from one side to the other, and manhandled, manifests the immoral intention of the planted mediapersons and their accomplices. I am seriously distressed and feel my reputation, image and life is in danger,” Tripathy wrote, alleging that media was acting on behalf of his political adversaries.