Pinarayi Vijayan govt’s run-ins with media under scanner as Oppn turns up heat over case against TV crew

Reacting to the case, senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said: “The action against Mathrubhumi TV is an encroachment on media freedom. The phones of the journalists have been seized by the police. Pinarayi Vijayan is a CM who has adopted the style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Police should not have been allowed to turn against the media and journalists for having exposed the inefficiency of police.”

The case against the Mathrubhumi TV news team is the latest in a string of incidents that the Opposition has seized on to put the Vijayan government under the scanner. These allegations also come at a time when the CPI(M) has been sharpening its attack on the BJP government at the Centre over “state repression and intimidation of media”.

In March last year, the Kerala police had registered a case against Asianet News prime time anchor Vinu V John on the basis of a complaint lodged by CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and senior CITU leader Elamaram Kareem against a debate on the trade union-sponsored Bharat bandh on 28th of that month.

On the show, John purportedly spoke of an autorickshaw driver in Malappuram being allegedly attacked by pro-strike workers. Referring to Kareem’s supposed stand on the matter, John said: “What would happen when Kareem’s family travels by a car? The vehicle’s windshield glass should be smashed down and he should get a slap in his face. Like Yasir (the attacked auto driver), Kareem also should have been left with a bleeding nose.’’ The comment against the CPI(M) leader had sparked protests against John as well as Asianet, with CITU workers taking out a march to the channel office in Thiruvananthapuram.

During the Assembly session this year, the state government also faced the ire of the Opposition over “media restrictions” in covering proceedings of the House. Private media channels usually depend on the footage from Sabha TV, which is under the state legislature’s purview. The Opposition has alleged that Sabha TV was not showing their protests as part of the Assembly proceedings. LoP Satheesan had then said that the Sabha TV had been reduced to a “CPM media venture”.

CM Vijayan has also gone on record hitting out at sections of the media. On May 2, 2021, as the state Assembly election results were being announced, Vijayan said: “Certain right-wing media (organisations) tried to defame the government and fabricated stories against us. They think they can manipulate the political agenda of the state using their clout. They should self-introspect.”

As the gold smuggling scandal dominated the Kerala politics in 2018 after the arrest of Vijayan’s then principal secretary M Sivasankar, his Cabinet decided to amend the Kerala Police Act to mandate a jail term for any offensive social media post. Vijayan had assured that the proposed law would not be used against free speech or impartial journalism, but the government had to later withdraw it in the wake of massive protests.

Earlier, in 2018, the Vijayan government issued a circular stating that the media should take prior permission from the state public relations department for interacting with ministers and other notable persons. The circular had blamed the media for creating unnecessary crowds at public places, airports, railway stations in their bids to get response from prominent persons. It had come under sharp criticism and never came into effect.