Making ass of oneself!

Some editors of 24x7 English News channels had met Jayalalitha sometime back may be for reasons and considerations of mutual quid pro quo. Among them was the Chief News Editor of the channel CNN-IBN, which specializes in the arts of blacking out news against her and making a mountain of a molehill of a manufactured news against the DMK in order to satisfy her.

Recently the CNN-IBN channel telecast a slanderous news that Tmt. Kanti Alagiri, wife of Union Minister Thiru M.K.Alagiri, acquired a land belonging to a temple. As if it was a great finding through their investigation, showing some papers as if they were copies of related documents in the possession.

This ‘news’ was nothing new but one telecast long back by Jayalalitha’s Jaya TV channel and refuted with evidence. The English channel might not be aware of it or may feign innocence.

The channel’s story was that Lottery kingpin Martin had bought the temple land through bogus documents and retained the lands in his possession and demolished all opposition to it by his political influence and muscle power. So reporting the channel gleefully showed some documents believing it had cornered the DMK government.

It is ridiculous that the Chief News Editor of the News channel, Rajdeep Sardesai, did not verify the fact that Martin acquired that land in 2001 and that in that year the regime in Tamil Nadu was that of Jayalalitha-led ADMK.

After 2001, the ADMK ruled the State for about five years when the said Martin had threatened using his political influences and muscle power. In that case the channel and its chief editor should have targeted Jayalalitha for their attack and why should they take Thiru Alagiri to task?

Martin, during ADMK regime acquired that land and possessed it in his name for about five years. Where did the Trustee, who claims now that it is temple land, go all these nine years? During these nine years, ADMK was in power for about five years. Where did the present complainants and the CNN-IBN chief editor Rajdeep Sardesai go?

The next charge was that Alagiri’s wife bought the land for throwaway price! Fixing of price is an affair between the seller and the buyer. Moreover, no land registration can take place for amounts lesser than the Guideline value fixed by the government for that area.

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, if somebody had bought lands in a particular area for amounts much more than the ‘guideline value’ fixed for the area, that price becomes the ‘guideline value’ determined for subsequent buyers. When this is the procedure in vogue how can that land acquired by Thiru Alagiri’s wife be said to have been bought for a throwaway price?

And how can buying of the land registered in the name of Martin and in his possession for nine years, be considered as acquiring temple land? If at all CNN-IBN chief news editor Rajdeep Sardesai is some way or the other indebted to Jayalalitha, let him spare questioning her as to how the person, who affixed her signature in documents and then lying in the court that it was not her signature, only to be established by forensic experts that it was indeed her signature, become Chief Minister of a state?

But if the channel and its chief indulge in such thoughtless adventure, they make assess of themselves!