The Hindu, which ironically bears the name and is notorious for its anti-Hindu prejudice as well as pandering to opposition parties, particularly the Left, has apologised regarding a recent interview with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Interestingly, a Public Relations (PR) agency named Kaizzen offered the interview to the media house which landed them in a soup and led to major protests against Vijayan in the state.
“In the interview with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, published in the September 30 edition, The Hindu would like to state that some sentences that were not part of the interview were added in the published version at the request of the PR person who helped arrange the interview. This should not have happened, and we unreservedly apologise for this serious error of judgment on the reporter’s part and the lack of editorial oversight in this instance,” the correction segment published in the paper read.
The interview took place at Kerala House in New Delhi at 9 am on 29th September in the presence of two representatives of the PR agency, according to the English daily. It mentioned, “The interview lasted for around 30 minutes. Subsequently, one of the PR representatives requested the inclusion of details regarding gold smuggling and hawala transactions in Malappuram, proceeds from which were used for anti-state and anti-national activities.” The paper revealed that Vijayan, however, already made the remarks that the PR person wanted to be added, at a press conference.
“The PR representative provided in writing the request for inclusion in the Chief Minister’s response of the lines that are now disowned by his press secretary. Including those lines as part of his statements of that day was a lapse that revealed a lack of journalistic rigour and we apologise for this error,” the piece written by The Hindu’s editor concluded.
The reason behind the clarification
According to reports, Vijayan, in an interview with The Hindu, asserted that the accusations of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) colluding with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are the result of opposing opinions on the actions taken by the police during the previous five years concerning the smuggling of gold and hawala money. He added that during the previous five years, the police confiscated crores of hawala money in Malappuram. The development followed accusations including smuggling gold and unlawfully amassing a fortune, levelled by Nilambur MLA P V Anwar against senior police officials. He quit the Left Democratic Front (LDF) after a massive disagreement with Vijayan.
In response to a question about his views on the claims that senior police officers and chief ministerial staff members meet with top RSS leaders in private, the chief minister alleged, “The Left, especially the CPM, has strongly opposed the RSS and other Hindutva forces. Many of our comrades have lost their lives for speaking against them. No one can believe these lies. We must understand the reasons behind such allegations. A significant proportion of Kerala’s population consists of minority communities.”
Vijayan also pointed out that these communities had previously been with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), but that was no longer the case. “The minorities now support the LDF. This is part of the UDF’s deliberate attempt to create confusion knowing it will affect us in the elections. False allegations are being raised that we have a soft approach towards the RSS,” he conveyed.
The chief minister then charged, “This propaganda is aimed at political gain. Other extremist elements are also at work promoting communal divisions. While the government of Kerala is working against Muslim extremist elements, these forces are trying to highlight that we are working against Muslims. For example, 150 kg of gold worth Rs 123 crore and hawala money were seized by the state police force in Malappuram in the last five years. This money reaches Kerala for anti-national activities. As for Anwar, we have already constituted a special investigation team to investigate his claims.”
Protests erupt after Vijayan’s comments and his denial
Vijayan came under heavy fire from multiple corners for his statement that money entering Malappuram via hawala and gold smuggling is meant for anti-national activities. Several organizations claimed that the district of Malappuram had been disrespected by him. There were protests notably from the Left-affiliated Kanthapuram faction. Other groups including the Muslim League, Kerala Muslim Jamaat, Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) and Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) also slammed the chief minister. They sought an explanation from him regarding the nature of the anti-national activities being carried out with the gold in Malappuram.
Earlier today, the youth wing of the opposition UDF parties took to the streets asking CM Viajyan to resign over statements made on Malappuram and the alleged RSS links of some senior IPS officers. Protesters broke police barricades to enter the state assembly complex. The police deployed water canons to disperse protesters.
The protests also saw participation from members of the Youth Congress, Youth League, and RYF, who attacked police officials with sticks and other materials as they tried to break the barricades.
But even as protests sweep Kerala’s capital, CM Vijayan had tried to distance himself from the controversy. On October 3, Vijayan rejected the allegations that his office had commissioned a PR agency to liaise with the national media.
Addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram, Pinarayi Vijayan stated, “Neither I nor the government has assigned a PR agency for interviews.”
Vijayan stated that he was unaware of the credentials of the third individual who entered the interview location. “When the person walked in, I assumed he was accompanying the lady reporter. It was only later that I learned he was from a PR agency,” he explained, adding that Subramanyan had not contacted him since then and dismissing any questions about taking action against the PR agency as irrelevant.
“The lady reporter was taking notes while also recording our conversation on her mobile phone. When asked about P V Anvar, I mentioned that the question required a more detailed response, but due to time constraints, I chose not to address it,” the CM continued. “However, when the report was published, it included statements I never made,” he added. “I do not know whether they obtained the controversial remark about Malappuram from Subramanyan or elsewhere,” he said.
How the Radia Tapes scam showed Indian journalists acted as PR agents
While Pinarayi Vijayan’s statements distancing himself from the PR agency and feigning ignorance were predictable, given that the controversy snowballed into full-fledged protests, with opposition parties cornering the CM over the issue. Even so, the controversy is nothing new to Indian politics as it has closely witnessed the ‘management’ of media and politicians by PR agents with the Radia Gate.
Radia Gate pertains to the Radia tapes controversy back in 2010 when conversations of a corporate lobbyist, Nira Radia, with several high-profile individuals, including politicians, journalists, industrialists, and bureaucrats were secretly recorded by the Indian Income Tax Department between 2008 and 2009 as part of an investigation into possible tax evasion and suspicious financial activities.
The tapes exposed significant lobbying by Radia on behalf of her clients, including major corporations such as the Tata Group and Reliance Industries, to sway the distribution of ministerial positions in the Indian government, especially during the formation of the UPA-II government in 2009. They also suggested potential media manipulation, with certain well-known journalists reportedly assisting her lobbying activities.
MK Venu, one of the co-founders of The Wire, was featured in the Radia tapes controversy, where he was heard requesting corporate lobbyist Niira Radia to introduce a journalist named ‘Rohini Singh’ to her (lobbyist’s) circle (of politicians, businessmen, lobbyists, etc.). Radia was believed to be using journalists as brokers for securing favourable deals for her corporate clients from the UPA government. A journalist named ‘Rohini Singh’ is currently working with The Wire as well.
Barkha Dutt was perhaps the cynosure of the Radia Tapes scam, with her audio files revealing how she sounded as an alleged conduit for Congress, relaying the information sought by Ms Radia and seeking directions from her when in doubt. According to the conversation transcripts between her and Niira Radia, Ms Radia was lobbying against the reappointment of Dayanidhi Maran to the post of Union IT and Communications minister and Barkha was actively mediating between the two parties to somehow end the stalemate and form a government at the centre.
The scandal sparked widespread public outrage, as it hinted at a close connection between corporate interests, the media, and the political establishment. It also exposed corruption in the allocation of 2G spectrum licenses, which was part of a broader corruption scandal in India.
So, it is unsurprising that Vijayan may have hired a PR agency to liaise with the national media. Something that has precedence could be imitated more easily, especially when those involved in the Niira Radia tapes almost went unscathed, with most of the journalists featured in the recordings running profitable businesses with propaganda YouTube channels and websites, pretending to be ‘truth-tellers’ while shamelessly furthering their political bias possibly as a part of their ‘PR contract’.
