MEDIA MUZZLE: Journalists protest against the media clampdown

Apart from the fact that both have been Congress chief ministers, there is little that Kerala's A.K. Antony has in common with Bihar's Jagannath Mishra. But similarities are suddenly surfacing. Just as Mishra tried-unsuccessfully though-to muzzle the press in Bihar in the mid-1980s, the Antony Government is trying to browbeat the media into submission in Kerala.

On June 28, three days after it telecast a story alleging that state Tourism and Fisheries Minister K.V. Thomas was involved in the Rs 336 crore hawala scandal which rocked the state recently, senior editors at Surya TV, the largest Malayalam TV channel, had to deal with unwelcome guests from the Intelligence Department. They were interrogated for over three hours, an fir was lodged against reporter Anil Nambiar by the state Crime Branch and cases were filed for forgery, conspiracy and defamation.

"Journalists indulge in forgery and have to be punished." A.K. Antony, Chief Minister

Surya TV says the report was based on a letter written by Director-General of Police Hormis Tharakan to the Chief Minister's Office. However, a day after the story was telecast, Tharakan denied sending any such letter. Antony joined the fray saying the letter was forged, while Thomas said he would initiate legal proceedings against the network. The police too moved swiftly to obtain a legal notice directing the channel to produce a copy of the letter allegedly written by the DGP. "We have to probe the links the reporter has with those who forged the document," said a top police official, confident that the letter was a counterfeit. According to C. Praveen, general manager, Surya TV, the police have been terrorising the staff and tapping their phones ever since the story was telecast.

The controversy has worsened the already strained relationship between the 13-month-old United Democratic Front (UDF) Government and the media. For more than a month, journalists in the state had been protesting against curbs imposed by Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman on the electronic media's coverage of the assembly sessions. Instead of advising the Speaker to exercise restraint, the UDF has been supportive of his actions, even terming the media "irresponsible". The electronic media hit back by boycotting the Assembly. "The curbs have been imposed at a time when all over the democratic world, the move is towards openness," said K.G. Muralidharan, president, Kerala Union of Working Journalists. The agitation has since been called off.

Antony himself has adopted a hostile attitude towards the media. Last week, he put off a post-cabinet meeting briefing after seeing mediapersons carrying black flags. Antony's confidant and Information Minister M.M. Hassan brazenly suggested a "code of conduct" for the media. "Journalists are ill-informed, irresponsible and often work against the interests of the state," he said. Added Antony: "They indulge in scandal-mongering and forgery and have to be punished."

The authoritarian streak is not new, though for more than 25 years Antony had managed to cloak it. During the Emergency, when much of the country's media remained shackled, he edited a Congress rag that praised the suspension of rights. He even served, along with V.C. Shukla, as one of the five government nominees on the board of The Indian Express-the daily which fought a lone battle against the Emergency. Does his support for the recent anti-media incident show the return of Antony to his real, autocratic self?