Has Kerala become unsafe for journalists?
Published on: 13 June 2023, 01:13 pm
One after another, journalists in Kerala are being booked for just doing their job, which the government sees as doing 'anti-government' stories, much like the government at the Centre.
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IT appears that the Kerala government, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], its police, and the party's student wing— Students Federation of India (SFI)— are not going to allow the media to do its job freely and fairly.
Responding to the press on June 12, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan said that the media will face action for reporting against the government in the state and "more cases will be filed if [it] continues to indulge in anti-government activities."
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A day earlier, the Kerala police had filed a conspiracy case against Asianet News chief reporter Akhila Nandakumar, Maharaja's College principal V.S. Joy, head of the Department of Archaeology and Material Cultural Studies Dr Vinod Kumar, Congress's student-wing Kerala Students Union (KSU) state president, Alosiouis Xavier, and Maharaja's College unit vice-president C.A. Faisal.
The case was filed based on a complaint by SFI state secretary P.M. Arsho, alleging that a conspiracy to defame him had been hatched by the college and the media.
On June 6, the principal had informed the media that Arsho had registered for an exam and was considered failed (though earlier he was declared passed), as in the marks list (prepared by Vinod Kumar and Joy) he got zero marks.
“CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan said that the media will face action for reporting against the government in the state and "more cases will be filed if [it] continues to indulge in anti-government activities."