On the day the DA case of Jayalalithaa was being
argued in the Supreme Court by Sasikalaa’s lawyers rejecting the notion of Sasikalaa
as a power centre, Times
of India, Chennai edition carried a huge headline saying that Sasikalaa
had a hand in the change of candidates in the upcoming elections.
While the headline screams “Sasikalaa’s
stamp on changes in AIADMK’s list of candidates”, the article does not
contain any information linking Sasikalaa to the changes that Jayalalithaa has
made in the candidate list. No source or authenticity was quoted in the article
to indicate Sasikalaa’s complicity in this matter. Instead it has been said throughout
in the article that the changes have been effected based on the winnability of
the candidates and the inputs received from the surveys and intelligence
reports. That means even if Sasikalaa had wanted her men to be given seats,
their winnability and popularity only had decided their inclusion in the list.
Such being the case, why this mischievous title was given
by the News network of TOI? Why passing on specific notions as news and pushing
them in the title by the News desk of TOI? If this news appears under some writer’s name,
we will think that it is the writer’s wish to project such a notion. But when
the news appears in the name of TOI news network, then it smacks of some hidden
agenda or motive. Or is this a case of paid news by the TOI?
The title on Sasikalaa appearing at a time when the
case is being heard about her complicity in DA case raises the question whether
TOI is upto creating opinions in somebody’s mind. (If I mention who that
somebody is, I may be accused of abuse of a constitutional authority). Only a DMK
support- magazine can make such headlines without substance to support.
I would accuse that this is paid news, for, in the
same newspaper a more important news of the day was not given the place that is
due to it. Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter had
made an important statement that all the liquor manufacturing units run by the DMK men would be closed
if DMK comes to power. This news appears as a small box item on the 10th
page.
This was not told by some DMK man, but by the
daughter of the DMK patriarch who is a contender to the post of a future
successor to Karunanidhi. Kanimozhi have even said that once coming to power
they would not even divert the liquor sales to other States. It would be a
complete closure. Kanimozhi has said that this was told by Karunanidhi himself.
From another online magazine (tamil.oneindia.com)
Is this not a newsworthy statement? This statement by
none other than Kanimozhi raises the counter question why not close down the
liquor units NOW itself. If the DMK is serious about prohibition, why wait till
it comes to power? It should close the manufacturing units now itself. Why TOI
failed to give a prominent slot to this news item in its newspaper?
This statement by Kanimozhi spelling out DMK’s
stance is worthy to be the headline in the front page but it also would attract
a political storm. But by pushing it to a small box-news, TOI stands suspect in
the eyes of the reader that it has tried to reduce the brickbats to the DMK generated
by this statement. Why should it do this unless TOI had been taken care of well
by the DMK. One can recall the meet with the media that Stalin had at the end
of his “Namakku Naame” programme. Public has no
idea of who attended that meet. But the news carried by the magazines, now
including the TOI shows who attended it and what happened behind the screens.
Earlier TOI carried a news item (a few months ago)
on the powerful / power wielding sons of politicians. Almost every politician
in TN has a son or a son in law who is doing the controlling act from behind
the politician. Sabareesan, the son in law of
Stalin is a well known name in this segment. Only Jayalalithaa is left out in
this area. As if to make up for it the TOI article / news item showed
Jayalalithaa’s picture and a ‘son’ who is the son of the Ilavarasi. Has at any
time until now, this son of Ilavarasi made his name or face or clout anywhere
felt? But the news item said that he is the foster son of Jayalalithaa but
could not pinpoint any instance of a role for him in the party or anywhere. But
then why drag Jayalalithaa’s photo and that guy’s photo in that article? Is it
to satisfy some pay masters and to say that TOI does a ‘level playing’ game
with all parties, even if there is none to point out on Jayalalithaa in that
segment?
This makes me think that TOI is going The Hindu way.
The Hindu which was once called as Mount Road Mahavishnu by Karunanidhi is now
known among readers as Mount Road Murasoli! (Murasoli is the official news
paper of DMK). Not many believe or care about the articles and opinions published
in The Hindu. It is now on par with many local Tamil dailies and magazines like
Nakkeeran and Vikatan which are the mouth pieces of the DMK. No wonder the
reader base of The Hindu is eroding day by day. The TOI is also going to go on
that direction.
**********
From
Apr 19 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)
Sasikalaa's stamp on changes in AIADMK's
list of candidates
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
|
Party
Drops 8 Candidates, Replaces 3
AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa's associate Sasikalaa appears to be
making her presence felt as the AIADMK list of candidates for the assembly
election goes through a review. On Monday, the party chief made yet
another change in her list, dropping eight candidates and replacing three with
ministers, who had been left out in the original list of 227 released on April
4.
So far, Jayalalithaa has changed 21 candidates.
Sources said several factors influenced the
AIADMK leader's decision, including Sasikalaa's insistence that some of her
supporters, sitting MLAs, be retained, besides intelligence inputs about
candidates' image, credibility and petitions from cadres.
Jayalalithaa has chosen to bring back three
ministers, who did not figure in the initial list, to take on heavyweights from other parties.
While higher education minister P Palaniappan has
been fielded in Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri district, where he had contested and won
in 2011,
minister for rural industries and milk P Mohan will
contest in his home constituency of Sankarapuram in Cuddalore district. It was
found that A S A Rajasekar, who was replaced by Mohan, was not so popular.
Tourism minister S P Shanmughanathan will contest again from
Srivaikuntam in Tuticorin district.
Party leaders whisper about surveys conducted by the
leadership to assess how voters are receiving their candidates.
It was found that G S Kuppusamy , who was fielded
earlier in Pappirediipatti had poor prospects. “The feedback Amma got was that Kuppusamy was sure to lose,“ said a
party functionary on condition of anonymity . The “survey“ apparently also indicated that Palaniappan
would win if he was fielded.
Jayalalithaa has
clearly accorded priority to ensuring that candidates with a clean image are
fielded as corruption is emerging as a key plank.
Jayalalithaa had fielded Tamilarasi, the party's
women's wing secretary , to take on DMK veteran K N Nehru in Trichy West. Later
a decision was taken to replace her with Trichy district secretary R Manoharan
and to move her to Trichy East. The decision to replace her kicked up a furore
among her supporters, who picketed the entrance of the Rock Fort Temple when
Natarajan and his men had gone to pray .
Subsequently, the leadership has replaced Tamilarasi
with Vellamandi N Natarajan in Trichy East. In the process, Tamilarasi has now
ended up losing her post as councillor in Trichy corporation as well. She had
tendered her resignation from the post after announcement of her candidature.
Like the West, it would be no wonder if in the near future, if not immediately, the country gets to be ruled by the barons of fourth estate. Political parties beware!!
ReplyDeleteDear Madam,
ReplyDeleteeven news from Dinamalar everyday abuses Gokula Indira a minister which appears intentional and accusations made up n that shows DMK is desperate to win Anna Nagar.
surprised of such attitude of Dinamalar
Regards
Sheela
@ Mr Raghunathan K.
ReplyDeleteI think in India the Corporates have already started doing that and not the media. Modi Govt is suspect on that account. The reason why JJ refused to meet Piyush Goel (power minister) is not for any political or administrative reasons. It is when Piyush wanted to promote a particular corporate of his liking to be given some project by TN govt, JJ refused to meet him. Even the awarding of the solar power production to Adani has a shady background which JJ did not like. JJ of the past one decade is totally a transformed person who seems to believe only in people and God and does not want to engage in any activity of undue favour or revenge or opportunism.
But this was mischievously told by Piyush that it was difficult to meet JJ (CM) and that JJ is inaccessible which has been exploited by the DMK. However we heard Venkaiah Naidu and Nirmala Sitaraman saying that they had no trouble in meeting her or getting an audience with her. I wont say that JJ is inaccessible. We see often many people meeting her. It all depends on the purpose of the meeting.
JJ's refusal to give undue favour or shield any matter of wrong doing (in the present context, by the media) is precisely the reason why the TN media is up against her as they can not get away with any shady acts and can not expect any favours (undue) from her. In contrast Karunanidhi offers a safe haven to wrong doings / doers. That is why the TN media is all the time having honey-moon with the DMK. The DMK pays them to say what it wants. It is not like in the US where the media has an upper control and the politicians are at their mercy. Here the media in controlled by the DMK. At the national level too, the Congress controls the media through money and favours and not the other way around.
But I am of the opinion that the Modi Government has given the impression that business houses have control over him / his Government. I think this is true in the case of the US also.
Dear Ms Sheela.
ReplyDeleteYes Dinamalar is another Murasoli of the DMK. I noticed this in the Lok Sabha 2014 elections too. Today's headline says 'vyooham' against JJ in her constituency as though JJ has been put under check by the candidates of the rival parties. The news report even says that JJ would be forced to spend more time in her constituency to score a victory due to this Vyooham!!
If this news had appeared in thats tamil oneindia.com, I would have laughed at it for, that is what we can expect from thats tamil, It is the benami of the DMK. But if Dinamalar, an oldest paper which we relied for news does the same, it is objectionable. It is nothing but a case of paid news.
Read this part of the news:
கடும் நெருக்கடி:ஜெயலலிதாவை எதிர்த்து, ஆண் வேட்பாளர்களை களம் இறக்குவதால், பெண்கள் ஓட்டு கணிசமான அளவுக்கு, ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு கிடைத்து விடுகிறது. இதை தடுக்கவே, இம்முறை முக்கிய எதிர்க்கட்சிகள் அனைத்தும், பெண் வேட்பாளரை களம் இறக்கி உள்ளன. இதனால், ஆர்.கே.நகரில், ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு கடும் நெருக்கடியை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளதாக, எதிர்க்கட்சிகள் தரப்பில் கூறப்படுகிறது.
What a comedy!! The fact is that there is no "MALE" to give her a challenge. (I think I can post more blogs on these comedies at this election time.)
All the rival candidates opposing JJ are novices sent as scapegoats by their parties. Vasanthi Devi is totally a novice and her complete absence of the political gravity of the seat she has been given can be observed from her speech that she agreed to contest after seeing the manifesto of PWF / Thiruma!!! Only solace is that all the women fielded against her are educated and this gives an impression that her opponent parties have thought that only educated candidates must be fielded against JJ.
If Thiruma himself had stood against her, then it is apt to call it a Vyooham. Vaiko wanted him to contest against JJ, but he did not want to lose and therefore ran away to Kattumannar koil saying that he secured more votes there last time.
Another comedy (paid news) from Dinamalar posted on 18th April. The title runs as "ADMK is slipping" சறுக்குகிறது அ.தி.மு.க. The reasons are change in candidate list and repetition in her election speeches. Read here http://www.dinamalar.com/news_detail.asp?id=1504243
Even today she changed the candidate of Ottapidaram which was originally allotted to the Muslim party. The reason is obvious. Krishnaswamy (PT party) has announced his candidature from there. ADMK and not the Muslim party is strong in taking on Krishnaswamy. Krishnaswamy won the previous election by aligning with her. He is a political prostitute (I think we can use this term on these politicians without any qualms as there is no better term to express). He (and people like him) deserves to be exiled from politics. In this election, I wish all the parties facing existential crisis are exiled from politics once for ever.
JJ was the first to release the candidate list and kicked off her campaign immediately after that. The release of the list is needed to give a start. But once others had started releasing their lists, she had to make amends to take on the opponent.
Dear Madam,
ReplyDeleteur views are true! working style of JJ in releasing her party list is always the same well ahead others and due changes later. only consistent observers will know, ofcourse media n analyst also know n its for money factor they scream the other way.
my support is for her redeeming power crisis in state which has direct impact on livelihood of people which is left unnoticed alongwith some other good factors though
there are few shortcomings still she is the best forthe moment.
Sheela
Dear Ms Sheela,
ReplyDeleteYes, solving the power crisis is the best thing done by her. But if DMK comes to power, that would be lost. DMK's poll promise is to reduce the power bill by 60% ( saw in an ad). If people succumb to this promise, the State is sure to reel back to power deficit and inability to augment due to to loss in income.
Another issue is the aavin milk price which the DMK has promised to reduce by Rs 7 per from the presently quoted margin of Rs 9 per litre. This is also a retrograde step and would take back Aavin to DMK period of losses. JJ's policy on milk pricing has enabled Aavin to come back from losses and go on expansion mode. If this trend is maintained, like Gujarat's Anand, Aavin will be able to export milk and milk products to other States and outside countries. I wish JJ takes up these 2 issues of DMK poll promise (power bill reduction and reduction in aavin milk price) in her speech in the coming days as I find these two are being talked by people.
DMK is able to give these two promises because JJ has brought them from brink and made them do well. Every time she would do like this and then DMK comes to power and squander away them.
Dear Madam,
ReplyDeleteWhat's your view of the recent opinion polls predicting DMK upsurge? There is a perception that ground reality is actually shifting away from JJ. It's looking like a close contest (at least that is how it is being projected!)
thanks
Jai
Dear Mr Jai,
ReplyDeleteWritten about the survey in the comment section of http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2011/04/will-karunanidhi-come-back-astrological_12.html?showComment=1462274647011#c3204179836834991155
Dinamalar has been publishing biased news in favour of DMK all these months. Its articles in the name of news is very cheap and competes with Nakkeeran. You know what Nakkeeran wrote a few weeks ago. It wrote that JJ is unpopular in RK nagar and that she is going to contest from 2 seats this time. That is the wish of Nakkeeran and all the other news magazines of TN. These magazines had never written good about JJ. They are sick, sickular and corrupt. But DMK is the friend of them because they are hand in glove with them in sick, sickular and corrupt ways. One example is the election promise by the DMK which Stalin reiterated yesterday. It is that DMK would withdraw all the cases against the magazines. There are many defamation cases against these magazines because they write all rot about JJ and her governance. Did you ever read a news about TN in top 3 even surpassing Gujarat and Rajasthan in green / solar energy for the current fiscal year. You will never read it any of these Tamil news papers. But they will write all unsubstantiated ideas about JJ and her govt for which they are slapped with defamation cases. Now DMK is saying that they would withdraw the cases. My question is what was DMK doing when Dinakaran office was torched and its employees were roasted alive. Who were the perpetrators of that crime? The torching was done by the DMK itself for having written in favour of Maran brothers. When an item was unpalatable to them they wont hesitate to even put others on fire. When an item supportive of them is published, they wont hesitate to twist or bypass the law to do gooddies to them. That is DMK. That is what DMK has promised to the magazines in the election manifesto.
By now the common man has understand the true colours of the DMK. They know what these surveys are and how these surveys are written. Similar surveys, not one but many appeared during 2011 Assembly elections and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Can anyone forget the scene of Vadivelu meeting MK on the previous night of election results in 2014 Lok sabha elections as an exit poll predicted victory for DMK? But DMK drew a blank - a complete blank in the elections. That is the fate of even EXIT polls!! Imagine the dependability of opinion polls. The same survey trend is happening now and people knew what is happening behind the scene.
The most basic reason that this survey is a planned one to pep up DMK is that the questions were designed in such a way that the so called deductions tilt in favour of DMK. They had expunged those that have opted for their liking for a party not mentioned in the list. Only 1000 voters from more than a lakh voters in a constituency were surveyed. There was no scientific way in ensuring that a cross section of the constituency were surveyed. Only 30% of the women were surveyed in a State where 50% women voters are there.
Finally I repeat from my old comment :- Inspite of all this, what is the vote share of DMK? Only committed DMK cadres would vote for it. Since every party is in the fray, no voter is going to cross vote to any other party. This is the ground reality. By this simple arithmetic, ADMK leads with more vote share and DMK always lags behind it. In such a scenario, how could one expect DMK to score more than ADMK? From across which party, people are going to vote for DMK?
Thanks very much for your detailed response, Madam. Can't wait for the results.
ReplyDeletethanks
Jai
There is another angle to the Dinamalar survey. Thanthi TV is doing a detailed survey in each constituency and is discussing about it (Pandey does) for 20 constituencies every day. It is published in Dinathanthi the next day. This survey predicts victory for AIADMK. To counter the result of this survey, perhaps Dinamalar was roped in to project DMK as the leading one. But Thanthi TV's coverage is extensive and there is a detailed discussion on many issues for each constituency and the candidate. That gives some credibility to that survey. But Dinamalar survey does not carry any such credibility.
ReplyDelete