How BJP and mainstream media collectively twisted the facts in journalist arrest case

Shaastra Bhat Urimajalu | coastaldigest.com
November 15, 2018

Newsroom, Nov 15: The mainstream media in Karnataka has once again toed the Sangh Parivar line and showed its unwavering loyalty and unconditional allegiance to the self-proclaimed saviours of Hindutva by unhesitatingly twisting the facts in the case of arrest of a Kannada journalist, who had allegedly made offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad at an event in communally sensitive Kodagu district earlier this month.

Santosh Thammaiah, whose articles often appear in Hosa Digantha and other right-leaning Kannada news papers and magazines, was arrested by the police last Monday night when he had visited his in-law’s residence in Madhugiri in Tumakuru district under Indian Penal Code section 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings). The very next day he was released on conditional bail.

The arrest came a week after a complaint was lodged against him by Askar KV, a resident of Siddapura in Kodagu district on November 6 against Mr Thammaiah, who had delivered an inflammatory speech on November 5 at an “illegal” event organised by Prajna Kaveri, a Hindutva group at Gonikoppa in Kodagu district. According to police, the organisers had not even obtained permission for the event.

The hate speech

In his address, Mr Thammaiah had reportedly said the tenets preached by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia centuries ago were full of intolerance and selfishness. He went on to claim that Tipu Sultan became the first terrorist of India by following the teachings of the Prophet. BJP activists had widely circulated the media reports of his provocative speech. The complainant also alleged Mr Thammaiah hurt the sentiments of Hindus as well by comparing Mir Sadiq (a minister who betrayed Tipu Sultan during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War) to Sri Krishna.

The complainant had expressed concern that such speech can lead to unrest and disrupt the peace in the region. The complainant also said that Mr Thammaiah’s offensive remarks were aimed at creating unrest between Hindus and Muslims.  Even though the police had initially ignored the complaint, they filed the first information report (FIR) after protest by local Muslims.

BJP’s misleading campaign

Within hours of Thimmaiah’s arrest, the social media team of BJP launched a campaign claiming that a journalist, who opposed Tipu Jayanti celebration by the Karnataka government, was arrested as part of chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s Muslim appeasement policy.

Journalist-turned-politician Pratap Simha, who is also the MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency, was quick to denounce the arrest. “You timid govt, arrested my dear friend Santhosh Thammaiah. We vl fight it out (sic),” he tweeted. “Santosh Thammaiah who spoke about the brutalities against Hindus by Tyrant Tippu Sultan has been arrested by the Communal Government in Karnataka... (sic),” tweeted CT Ravi, Karnataka BJP general secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA. “Arrest of Thammaiah is a sledge-hammer blow on the freedom of the press,” claimed Aravinda Limbavali, another senior BJP leader. “Santhosh Thammaiah, a writer with nationalist leaning arrested by coward Karnataka Police for speaking against Tippu Jayanthi .. We will fight tooth & nail against this cowardice act(sic),” tweeted RSS leader B L Santhosh.

On the other hand, the activists of BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishat, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagarana Vedike staged a protest in Madikeri on Wednesday and also called for a Kodagu bandh between 12 noon and 1 pm (lunch hour bandh?), which evoked poor response.

The role of media

While official mouthpieces of Sangh Parivar brazenly justified the provocative remarks by the journalist, other news papers and television channels that often proclaim their ‘impartial and neutral stance’ cannily hid his abusive statements and lied to people that he was arrested for opposing Tipu Jayanti organised by the Karnataka state government!

Leading English dailies such as The Hindu, The Times of India, The New Indian Express apparently refrained from disclosing the real reason behind the arrest of Mr Thammaiah and highlighted the BJP’s claim that he was “arrested for speaking against the celebration of Tipu Jayanti”.

The Press Trust of India, a prominent national news agency claimed that Mr Thammaiah was arrested for his “speech against the recent Tipu Jayanti celebrations”, while the official website of the Times Now directly claimed that he was arrested for “opposing Tipu Jayanti” and underscored a BJP’s leader's claim that “Hindus are under attack”.

The following is the copy of First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police

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News Network
February 15,2020

Bidar, Feb 15: Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Friday demanded the State government to withdraw the sedition case against a mother and a teacher of Shaheen school immediately.

“The police can’t execute anything without the government’s permission. The sedition case against two women should be withdrawn immediately. I will raise the matter in the Assembly to draw the government’s attention,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after meeting the woman at the prison here. 

He clarified that he visited the woman not to support the school, but to extend moral support to her.

“I am an advocate and I can clearly establish based on my experience that staging a satirical play doesn’t amount for sedition. It doesn’t even defame anybody. Three cases of sedition have been registered across the state,” he charged.

He alleged that the government was following dual policy. Though the Supreme Court had concluded that the demolition of Babri Masjid was illegal, a play dealing with the demolition was staged at Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat’s school.
The sedition case had not been registered for staging the play.

He charged that there was an undeclared emergency in the country as the freedom of expression was being suppressed.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 25,2020

Bengaluru, July 25: A 105-year-old person from Bengaluru’s Basaveshwar Nagar, who was under treatment for covid-19 at a hospital for past five days, breathed his last today. He was a former government account who retired in 1973. He was the oldest known covid-19 patient in the state so far.

Many members of the patient's family are said to be infected and are hospitalised at various facilities. The funeral will be overseen by two uninfected family members.

The patient 74411 died on Saturday morning at around 9 a.m., said Dr Prasanna, Managing Director of Pristine Hospital And Research Centre where the former was admitted.

“The patient was initially doing well when he admitted on July 20. He did not have significant lung changes when he was admitted. However, after three days, his blood pressure started to drop so he was put on oxygen in the ICU. Yesterday morning, with continued deterioration, he was placed on non-invasive ventilator support,” Dr Prasanna said.

“Finally, by last night, his oxygen saturation levels began to plummet abruptly and we had to intubate him for ventilator support. His condition continued to deteriorate, however. The cause of death was respiratory failure and the onset of sepsis,” he added.

Although earmarked for supplies of Remdesivir by the government, the hospital did not receive the drugs. An appeal to Dr K Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education by the hospital staff resulted in an assurance that the medication would arrive. “However, in the end, we had to source the medication ourselves on Friday,” medical staff said.

Dr Thrilok Chandra, Head, Critical Care Support Unit (CCSU), which oversees the care of critical or vulnerable-aged Covid-19 patients, had said that Patient 74411 had been diagnosed early. “He was identified when the disease was still in the early stages in his body. He only had symptoms of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), so the symptoms were not severe,” Dr Chandra had said.

“It’s very sad. We were rooting for him to pull through. He had no comorbidities at all. He had been bed-ridden from last year, but he was healthy. His only potential comorbidity was his advanced age,” Dr Prasanna said.

According to government data, 34% of Covid-19 fatalities in India are aged between 60 and 74 years of age. Fourteen per cent are aged above 74.

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Media Release
February 13,2020

On Friday, February 7, 2020 Tulu Koota Kuwait under the leadership of Dynamic President Ramesh S Bhandary and coordination of Sports Secretary Roshan Quadras  held its annual picnic at Mishref Garden, Kuwait.  Although slight drizzling on the   previous night had caused great concern amongst committee members , yet the  windy and dusty weather did not lessen the enthusiasm and excitement of Tulu Koota Kuwait members.  Over 1000 members enjoyed the fun filled day.

MC of the occasion Mr. Manoj Shetty & Ms. Priya Devadiga welcomed the audience and Chief guests for the event Dr Jeshna Rajan- Badr Al Samaa Clinic, Dr. S.M.Hyther Ali- Chairman of TVS Hyder Group, Mr. John Simon- Group Manager for Corporate Sales and Event Marketing ,  Al Mulla Exchange, Mr Pradeep, owner of Geetherb medicine and Mr. Lokesh & Team from NH Assets.  The program kicked off with Kuwait & Indian National anthem. The guests in their address to audience, praised Tulu Koota Kuwait unwavering efforts to unite people through language, and also the solid philanthropy and charity work being carried by the association was applauded. The presidents  of different South Canara  association in Kuwait were also amongst invited dignitaries for the event, and were welcomed with flower bouquet. This was followed by the release of “ Tulu Nada Jathre flyer”.

Tulu Koota Kuwait President, Ramesh S Bhandary in his speech welcomed the dignitaries and emphasized the significance of the annual picnic gathering. He further elaborated on the innovative concept of “Tulunada Jathre ” being initiated this year, and requested fervent support and participation from all members in  this wonderful program scheduled to be held on Friday,  March 27, 2020 at Indian Central School Indoor Ground Abbasiya. 

As part of days celebration TKK’s Flag hosting  was done  by President , Ramesh Bhandary. “Go Green Global concept” by Tulu Koota members   was the highlight of the inaugural ceremony.  This act was directed by talented committee member Mr. Suresh Salian.

The act beautifully conveyed the message of sustainability, and climate change and raised awareness on how to fight it, how to live green.  The traditional inaugural of the sports event was done by breaking of coconut by Sports Secretary Mr. Roshan Quadras.  TKK First Lady Mrs Anitha Ramesh Bhandary led the sports march holding the traditional torch followed by the  Go Green Global team holding different country flags with plant pots, followed by President, committee members and Sponsors of TKK. The president officially inaugurated the Sports Event by officially lighting the Sports Lamp.

After the inauguration ceremony, the members and kids actively participated in day long sports games and activities meticulously planned out by the Sports committee  for different age groups.  Passing the parcel, Veggies collection, ball bucket, veg shopping , macroni race, hockey, kutti donne, sack race, lagori,  breaking the pot , tyre race, slow cycling, water ballon race, musical chair , kabbadi, volley ball, throw  ball , tug of war, housie housie, kept the members and their families  engaged and entertained. The winners for the competitions were awarded with trophies towards the end of the exciting day.

Delicious and authentic Mangalorean lunch for the event was served by Oriental Restaurant Kuwait.  Sounds and lights support for the event was provided by Anand, while the beautiful moments were captured in camera by Mr.Blen Dsouza and Mr.Rajesh Devadiga

Tulu Koota Kuwait takes this opportunity to thank its committee members, members and volunteers for their dedicated efforts and team spirit and active participation that eventually lead to the huge success of Family Picnic 2020. The Event Sponsors were Al Ahleia Insurance Company SAKP, Al Mulla Exchange, Khain Properties Udupi, Badr Al-Samaa Clinic, TVS Hyder Group and Geetherb.

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