Akhila case: CPI(M) says it stands for press freedom, but continues to make mockery of it in Kerala
Case against Asianet News Reporter: CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat said that the case was filed against the journalist not because he criticized the government, but on the basis of the complaint filed by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader PM Arsho.
FollowPalakkad: Former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M) and Politburo member Prakash Karat on Wednesday (June 14) said that the CPM has the same view regarding media freedom. He said that the case was filed against the journalist not because he criticized the government, but on the basis of the complaint filed by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader PM Arsho.
His response comes in the wake of a case against Asianet News reporter Akhila Nandakumar for reporting controversies related to SFI state secretary PM Arsho's mark list.
Karat said that the CPM has the same stand in the Centre and in Kerala on media freedom. The communist leader also added that the LDF government in Kerala will not take a case just for criticizing someone, but there may be some other reasons for it.
The Kerala government has come under fire for its hypocrisy on freedom of the press. The ruling LDF government falsely accused Asianet News reporter Akhila Nandakumar and others of engaging in a conspiracy on the basis of a complaint made by the state general secretary of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), PM Arsho.
Earlier, when CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury was confronted on the case, he stated that he is unaware of the happenings in Kerala. Later, he was seen questioning the Central government on media freedom in connection with the claims made by former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey. Yechury claimed that journalists are intimidated and imprisoned on false allegations. He asserted that the truth would not go away under the rule of PM Modi.
The CPM Politburo meeting in 2017, issued a statement saying that the media is being attacked by the Modi government to the extent that they are not allowed to perform their duties. The CPM had previously criticized the use of central agencies to monitor the media in 2021. While the so-called Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) is in power in Kerala, Sitaram Yechury claims to be oblivious to the incident.
