A major controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu as some media outlets are calling for a “boycott” of K Annamalai, the state president of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The Hindu has been at the forefront of the ‘boycott’ and ‘blackout’ calls against the BJP leader over his alleged ‘derogatory’ comments against a senior journalist who recently interviewed state Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. On Thursday (January 25th), several senior journalists and office-bearers from journalist associations protested at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai. However, The Hindu’s former editor and major stakeholder Malini Parthasarathy has slammed the publication for passing off its biases and prejudices against the BJP leader as ‘news reports’.
Taking to X, Malini Parthasarathy shared a clip of The Hindu’s report titled: “Journalists condemn Annamalai’s inappropriate conduct; demand criminal defamation case” and wrote, “As a major stakeholder @the_hindu, I am again compelled to call out the outrageous bias & prejudice that masquerade as news reports on our pages. The attack on the TN BJP chief @annamalai_k by a group of journalists in Chennai, especially the call to black out coverage of him, is totally unacceptable for any reputed news organisation.”
She further asserted that it would violate the right to freedom of expression if the publication obliges the boycott calls. Moreover, Parthasarathy called out the hypocrisy of the protesting journalists for not condemning the filing of an FIR by Madurai Police against the Editor and Publisher of Tamil daily, Dinamalar for their reportage on Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
As a major stakeholder @the_hindu , I am again compelled to call out the outrageous bias & prejudice that masquerade as news reports on our pages.
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) January 26, 2024
The attack on the TN BJP chief @annamalai_k by a group of journalists in Chennai, especially the call to black out coverage of him,… pic.twitter.com/zGe8Quzvnv
“It will be a shocking violation of the right to freedom of expression if @the_hindu obeys this crude boycott call! The painful irony is that there’s no condemnation by the same journalists of the Madurai police booking the editor and publisher of @dinamalarweb for their report on the Ram Mandir. By no means is this a defence of the freedom of expression as claimed by these self-appointed guardians of a free press!” Malini Parthasarathy added.
FIR against Dinamalar editor over report that TN govt gave oral orders to ban special poojas or annadanams to celebrate Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha
Madurai City Police recently filed a case of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’ against the Editor and Publisher of Tamil daily Dinamalar for publishing a news report alleging that oral orders had been issued not to allow special darshan and annadanam (alms-giving) in Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) temples on the day of the consecration ceremony on 22nd January. The FIR was registered in response to a complaint filed by the HRCE Department.
On 21st January, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had cited the Dinamalar report and slammed the Tamil Nadu government for ‘banning’ the live telecast of the Ram temple consecration ceremony, as well as prohibiting puja, bhajan, and annadanam at temples dedicated to Lord Ram.
TN govt has banned watching live telecast of #AyodhaRamMandir programmes of 22 Jan 24. In TN there are over 200 temples for Shri Ram. In HR&CE managed temples no puja/bhajan/prasadam/annadanam in the name of Shri Ram is allowed. Police are stopping privately held temples also… pic.twitter.com/G3tNuO97xS
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) January 21, 2024
Supreme Court pulls up DMK government over alleged oral orders banning live streaming and special poojas on Ram Mandir consecration day
On January 22, the Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government not to reject requests for live broadcasting of Lord Ram Lalla’s consecration event in Ayodhya or to ban special pooja at the state’s temples. It is worth noting that the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that there is no prohibition on holding special poojas, annadhanams, or live streaming of the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony.
“We believe and trust that the authorities will act in accordance with the law and not on the basis of any oral instructions,” said a two-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
The bench referred to the TN Police’s decision not to provide permission for annadaman in the Dindigul district in connection with the Pran Pratistha celebration as “atrocious” because Hindus constitute a minority in the area. It stated that the reasoning is “prima facie not justified and acceptable”.
“What kind of reasons are given for rejection? Can this be a reason that a particular community is in the minority, so you won’t allow the procession? Can a reason be given that Hindus are a minority at some place so you will not allow it? These reasons are atrocious. If this reason has to follow, no procession or ritual can happen across the state,” the Supreme Court bench remarked.
“First layer of DMK Onion is activated”: Annamalai hits back amidst ‘boycott’ calls
Notably, several journalists staged a protest at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai against BJP leader K Annamalai over his alleged derogatory remarks against News18 Tamil journalist Karthigai Selvan after the journalist, according to Annamalai, did not ask difficult questions to Udhayanidhi Stalin during the recent interview. Despite the demands for an apology, the BJP leader has not apologised.
During the protest on Thursday (25th January), N. Ram, Director of The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited claimed that this was not the first time that the BJP leader has made demeaning remarks about a journalist and that journalist Karthigai Selvan should file a defamation case against Annamalai. He also proposed the BJP leader “not be given any publicity”. N Ram went on to say that the BJP State president “cannot go back to business as usual”.
N Ram claimed that even though former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers M Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha also had issues with the media at some point, however, they never made derogatory remarks about mediapersons. Nakkheeran Editor R.R. Gopal, Senior journalist A.S. Panneerselvan and Sun News Editor-in-Chief M. Gunasekaran also joined the protest against Annamalai.
In response to the journalists’ protest on Thursday, BJP’s firebrand leader Annamalai said that the ‘first layer of the DMK onion’ has been activated.
Taking to X on Thursday, Annamalai wrote, “The first layer of the DMK onion, as we popularly know it, is activated & I understand that they are assembling today to protest against me. Today’s protest is the 3rd such protest carried out by this group against me in the last year & I consider it a badge of honour.”
In addition, the BJP leader presented a few “samples” in which the protesting journalists “forgot” that they were not “DMK spokespersons.” Annamalai stated that he supports journalists exposing ‘uncomfortable truths’, but he despises journalists who act as propaganda machinery for the DMK government.
The first layer of the DMK onion, as we popularly know it, is activated & I understand that they are assembling today to protest against me.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) January 25, 2024
Today’s protest is the 3rd such protest carried out by this group against me in the last year & I consider it a badge of honour.
Here… pic.twitter.com/1LCVzs0izA
“Here are a few samples where the 1st layer forgets that they are a journalist & behaves more like a DMK spokesperson. A few DMK underlings in the garb of journalists cannot decide & dictate the narratives in TN anymore. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Journalists who put their lives at risk to report the uncomfortable truth & at the same time, I despise those who act as propaganda machinery to please the ruling DMK Govt. They are a shame to their profession!” Annamalai added.
The ‘samples’ Annamalai shared include N Ram from The Hindu discussing the Rafale agreement and mocking PM Modi’s decision to place the Sengol in the new Parliament building, and Aravindakshan from Sathiyam TV criticising Ilayaraja for applauding PM Modi following the opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Annamalai equated the DMK ecosystem to an onion, claiming that the first layer was comprised of academics and intellectuals, followed by an ‘attack layer’ that strikes people based on caste and religion. The third layer, he claimed, consists of the party’s regional leaders, whereas the fourth is the DMK family. He added that the final layer is ‘Gopalapuram’. Notably, former CM Karunanidhi’s residence is situated in Gopalapuram.
Malini Parthasarathy vs N Ram
It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time that Malini Parthasarathy has openly called out The Hindu for its anti-BJP biases. During the controversy around Sengol last year, As reported earlier, The Hindu had claimed in its report that the Union Government’s comments about Lord Mountbatten presenting ‘Sengol’ to the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as a gesture of power transfer were untrue. The publication reported that it was simply a gift from saints to the first Prime Minister and that Nehru and others did not regard it as a symbol of a transfer of power. Gurumurthy rebutted The Hindu’s assertions, to which Malini responded that if his statements were proven true, The Hindu’s article would be amended accordingly. Back then, N Ran stood in support of the reporter who did the alleged “fact-check” for The Hindu.
Malini’s disagreements with others in The Hindu are widely known. She has frequently expressed her differences with others on ideological issues, including several with N Ram, her cousin and former Editor-in-Chief. In June last year, Parthasarathy resigned from the board of The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited.
