Media sets communal agendas for politicians in India: Paul Zacharia

News Network
October 30, 2017

Bengaluru, Oct 30: The media has let down Indians and destroyed the renaissance of society, according to veteran Malayalam writer and thinker Paul Zacharia. Delivering a lecture on ‘The writer’s role in speaking out’ at Bangalore Literature Festival, he said that media has surpassed politicians in spreading communalism and hatred.

“The media has let down Indians, and in states like Kerala, has destroyed the renaissance of society… I fear the media more than a politician today. We can hold a politician accountable at least once in five years, not the media,” he lamented.

“I once wrote a story about a robot that could identify the truth, half-truth and lies published in a newspaper. But even the robot couldn’t do it,” he said, adding that most communal agendas were mostly set by the media and later picked up by politicians.

Mr. Zacharia urged writers and citizens to be vigilant and take the risk to speak out. “I am not afraid of Narendra Modi, but I am more concerned of people and forces blindly supporting Narendra Modi. Unless he imposes another Emergency, he is in a government which has multiple checks and balances to keep him in check. But, we need to device ways to be vigilant of the media and the forces that seek to control our thought,” he said.

Citing the murder of activist Gauri Lankesh, he added: “I don’t want to die for speaking my mind. But, there seems to be no alternative but to take a risk.”

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News Network
April 8,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 8: In a strong show of support, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa stood behind the minorities in the state and said no one should target the Muslim community over the coronavirus crisis and the Tablighi Jamaat.

He said those communalising the issue will be dealt with strictly.

BS Yediyurappa was speaking to a regional media channel when he said "Nobody should speak a word against Muslims. This is a warning. If anyone blames the entire Muslim community for some isolated incident, I'll take action against them also without a second thought. Will not allow that to happen."

Since then, many have welcomed the CM's remarks including the opposition.

Former Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao tweeted and said that other BJP leaders should follow the Karnataka CM and that it's a welcome step.

Congress president DK Shivakumar too said he agrees with the chief minister and that no one should target one community. "The CM should also act strictly against people posting communal remarks on social media and issue an order."

Earlier, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa held a meeting with minority opposition MLAs and MLCs and urged them to pass the message within the community asking those who had attended the Delhi Nizamuddin Markaz event to come and get tested for Covid-19.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Shivamogga, May 21: An FIR has been registered against Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka over tweets on May 11 by the party's official handle about PM-CARES fund.

The FIR, registered under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), identifies Gandhi as the handler of the social media account.

The complaint by advocate Praveen KV alleged that the Congress party, through the tweets, has made rumourous statements against the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was trying to provoke the people against the government.

According to the FIR, the Congress party had on May 11, 2020, made false and baseless allegations, claimed misappropriation of PM-CARES Fund and cast aspersions on the Government of India through the tweets.

"A Twitter account handled by All India Congress Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi had on May 11, 2020, published tweets terming PM CARES Fund as PM CARES Fraud. They had claimed that the PM CARES fund is not being used for the public," Praveen KV told ANI on Thursday.

He said that he has collected all the details related to the tweets and account from the handle and filed a complaint in the matter, following which a preliminary enquiry was conducted and an FIR was registered in the matter.

"They had also said that the Prime Minister was enjoying and going to foreign trips with this fund. This is clearly rumourous news against the Government of India in this COVID-19 pandemic situation. In this regard, I had filed a complaint. After a primary enquiry, the Sagar Police has filed an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, who heads the INC Twitter account," Praveen KV said.

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News Network
March 1,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 1: Bengaluru Police has rescued six women and arrested two people after a raid on a spa, allegedly operating illegally, in the city's HSR layout area.

"Of the women rescued three are from Thailand and the other three are from North-Eastern states," said a statement from the Central Crime Branch's (CCB) Women Protection Wing.

The raid was carried out on Saturday night and the police have arrested two people, while the owner of the spa is absconding.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Peter Sunawar and Rajkumar Radhakrishna Mishra. Further investigation is underway in the case.

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