Sitaram Yechury ducks question on case against TV reporter in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, June 12 Days after a woman reporter was booked on the complaint of SFI state secretary P.M. Arsho, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri on Monday ducked the media posing questions on "freedom of press".

When asked about the manner in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led Police department "arraigned"Akhila Nandakumar of leading Malayalam TV channel Asianet News as one of the five accused in a complaint filed by Arsho, Yechuri said, " I don't know anything of Kerala," and walked away.

The case was registered following a complaint by SFI state secretary P.M. Arsho that Akhila Nandakumar had filed a story that he had passed an examination which he had not written, and that it was intended to defame him.

Yechury's silence comes at a time when CPI(M) Kerala state secretary and senior legislator M.V. Govindan said that the government would take action against the media if it files such stories.

The Ernakulam police in Kerala have registered a case against five people, including Prof Vinod Kumar of Maharajas College, Principal of the college Dr V.S. Joy, state president of Congress student body, KSU Alosiouis Xavier and College unit president of KSU, C.A. Faisal and the Chief reporter of Asianet news, Akhila Nandakumar.

As per Arsho, he had not applied for the third semester examination of the 2021-22 batch of the postgraduate programme in Archeology and Material Cultural Studies and hence there was no possibility of him passing the examination.

The Kerala Student Union (KSU), the pro-Congress student body, had claimed that in the college website document it was mentioned that Arsho had passed the examination even though the total marks he gained was zero.

But what has angered many is that while the Vijayan government was quick in registering a case against the lady TV channel reporter, it's been a week since reports surfaced of a former top SFI leader , K.Vidya over forging documents to get a posting as a guest lecturer in a government college.

The Kerala Police have registered a case against Vidya, but they are yet to trace her or her family members and a team of the probe officials on Monday arrived at the Government Maharaja's College and spoke with the college authorities, as it was an experience Acertificate of this college which Vidya had used to secure a Guest Lecturer temporary teaching post at two state run colleges in the past.

"We do not know where Vidya is and we are on the job of tracing her. None can say there is a delay because on Monday itself I have been to four places as part of the probe in the case of Vidya," said the Police probe official.

Leading a protest of the RSP in front of the state police headquarters State RSP secretary and former Labour Minister Shibhu Baby John said it's sad and strange that an upright Police official like the State Police chief Anil Kant has been relegated as a mere office secretary of the CPI(M) state party headquarters and the police headquarters is now like an annexe of the party headquarters.

At Kochi, veteran trade union leader and former Lok Sabha member Thampan Thomas inaugurated a protest march by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists and slammed the Vijayan government for registering a case against Akhila who merely reported an incident.

The protests are mounting as all know how the CPI(M) when in opposition speaks about how important the Press is and they should be given all the freedom and loses no opportunity in attacking the ABJP, when it resorts to such acts.