Whither Media in TN?

With a Hindi news channel exposing the tailoring of opinion polls in return for money and call for curbing such polls altogether, the issue of Freedom of the Press has again become a topical subject for acrimonious debate all over the country. But what does Freedom of Expression for the media in Tamil Nadu imply? No one seems to be demanding a dispassionate debate on the conduct of the media in the State and whether this precious freedom, won by sacrifices, is exercised or mortgaged by the print and electronic media in Tamil Nadu.
As DMK President Kalaignar has pointed out, the dailies in Tamil Nadu systematically covered up the shameful developments taking place in the Bangalore Special court in the Disproportionate Assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha. Not only now in this matter but also in all other cases like the Income Tax Returns case, Election Commission case against her for filing nominations from four constituencies in 2001 Assembly election etc. the dailies and television news channels completely covered up the proceedings in the Supreme Court and strictures passed against her by the court.
Even ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Times of India’ which were regularly publishing proceedings in the disproportionate assets case, completely stopped publishing them since Jayalalitha moved the Supreme Court for the retention of Bhavani Singh and Special Public Prosecutor and M.S.Balakrishna as judge of the special court even after retirement. Had such bizarre demands been made by any other accused in political arena, they would have published editorials and columns by eminent jurists.
As the trial in the case is coming to a close despite all her Machiavellian attempts to delay proceedings, the media in Tamil Nadu is more loyal than ADMK minions in covering up the adverse reports that would impede Jayalalitha’s Prime Ministerial ambition. If only a Mulayam Singh or Lalu Prasad aspire to become Prime Minister, just imagine how many stories the media would unearth to tarnish their image to scuttle their ambition. But they go out of the way in safeguarding ‘the reputation’ of the lady.
To bolster the image of Jayalalitha and safeguard it against damages, they perform direct and indirect services. Direct service is provided by extensively covering government releases and her statements and speeches read out by her. But indirect service is a bit more difficult as they have sell out conscience and mortgage journalistic ethics because it involves suppressing truth and reason. For instance, almost all dailies and channels claim that there is no discernible discontent and disgust against the ADMK government three years after they came to power, knowing the reality pretty well by their own experience- all sections of people are disgusted with long durations of unannounced power cuts, which is bound to increase with demand for power increasing manifold with summer season, price rise, drinking water scarcity, deteriorating law and order situation and all round failure of this regime in all fronts. 
On their own the media do not expose the misdeeds, failures, all-pervading corruption etc of this regime and also cover up the statements of Kalaignar and other opposition parties. They carry out news analysis for all other States and the Centre, closing their eyes and ears to the happenings around them. None of them questioned the sheer waste of people’s tax money by this regime immediately on assuming office by reversing all constructive steps taken during the earlier rule. Everybody knows that it was whimsical for Jayalalitha to abandon the new Secretariat/Assembly complex at Government Estate constructed at a cost of nearly Rs.1,000 crore, about which they (the media) had all lavished praises earlier, and again spending crores to remodel it as a hospital. There was no whisper at this colossal waste of public money to buttress the ego of an individual.
While they dutifully publish her charges against the Centre that it was giving step-motherly treatment to TN, they do not question her for wantonly hampering huge infrastructure projects implemented by the Centre in the State like the Rs.1,800 crore Chennai port-Maduravoyal elevated expressway, highway projects of the NHAI at a cost of more than Rs.25,000 crore etc., about which they must be more concerned than political parties and public.
Unresolved power crisis and the negative attitude of this regime towards infrastructure projects have cost the State very dearly in terms of industrial development, attracting investment and GDP growth rate. While the entire media in TN turned Nelson’s eye to reality in the State, it was for NBC-TV18’s Poornima Murali to report that Tamil Nadu has lost its status as a top investment hub in India due to the increasing number of stalled infrastructure projects across the state. the report on August 13, 2013 stated:
“Once touted as the ‘Detroit of South Asia’, Chennai seems to have taken a U-turn in the wrong direction somewhere along the way. With manufacturing growth sputtering due to lack of power and infrastructure bottlenecks, projects worth Rs 25,000 crore are in limbo in the state, reports CNBC-TV18’s Poornima Murali. The much-hyped Chennai Port -Maduravoyal project announced three years ago with the PM himself laying the foundation stone, is yet to take off. This is a site through which the 19-km elevated road connecting the two major industrial hubs of Oragadam and Sriperambadur to the Chennai Port was to have run. If completed, this would have been the longest elevated corridor project in the country. But problems with land acquisition and a blame-game between the project developer — the National Highway Authority Of India (NHAI) and the Tamil Nadu government have forced the NHAI to call for the closure of this Rs 1,815-crore expressway. And that’s just one of the projects. The Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project commissioned in 1998 has been under implementation for the last 15 years and is yet to be completed. Abdul Majeed, leader, PwC, says, “A few projects have been stalled because of various reasons — either regulatory approvals have been given while no land was acquired or regulatory approval is awaited even after the land has been acquired.” At a time when Tamil Nadu is reeling under a 4,000MW power crunch , some of the major power projects including Videocon ‘s 1,050MW project, the1,600MW project at Udangudi, IL&FS’ 4,000MW project and BGR ‘s 1,320MW project, are in limbo. A recent study by Assocham have revealed that while Tamil Nadu has attracted investment proposals worth R s 10 lakh crore as of June 2013, over 40 percent of these projects are still in the announcement stage, 2.5 percent have been stalled and there is no information regarding 4 percent of the projects. Says, DS Rawat, national secretary-general, Assocham, “Most of the stalled projects are because either the land has to be acquired or the environment clearances are yet to be received. It will be very difficult if projects worth Rs 25,000 crore do not see the light of day.” While the State government is trying to do its bit by inviting more private sector participants to invest in infrastructure projects, it’s clearly not enough. As Tamil Nadu- earlier ranked fourth in attracting investment proposals with MNCs like BMW, Hyundai, Ford, Samsung and Nokia having invested in the state — has now slipped to the sixth position in the country”.
Aided and abetted by the media in Tamil Nadu, directly and indirectly, the regime of Jayalalitha not only brushed aside the sane advices and pleas not to hamper on-going massive infrastructural facilities in the interest of development and progress of the State, but also remained reticent and developed audacity to move an appeal against the Madras High Court  judgment clearing the Elevated Express Highway Lane (EEHL) project linking Chennai Port and Maduravoyal by a 19-km road. Finding fault with the High Court order, the State said “the High Court referred to the fact that EEHL is a project in public interest and therefore, it should be allowed to be completed, totally overlooking the fact that larger public interest would be affected if such additional 32 pillars are constructed inside river Cooum. Equally, advantages by construction of EEHL are comparatively not so great.” The SLP sought quashing of the impugned judgment.
Earier, the Madras High Court on Feb 20 gave the green signal to the Rs 1,800 crore Chennai Port- Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor while allowing a writ petition filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).The Division Bench comprising Justices N Paul Vasanthakumar and P Devadoss set aside the January 28, 2013 order of the state Public Works Department to stop work of the elevated corridor project. The Bench also quashed the March 29, 2012 order passed by the PWD Chief Engineer to stop the work of elevated Corridor.
The Bench said the decision to construct the expressway is a policy decision taken in public interest after studying the feasibility report at the instance of Government of India, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways in consultation with NHAI and Tamil Nadu government and the same was ordered to be implemented by the State government. The bench further stated the policy decision was taken bearing in mind traffic congestion in Chennai, for free movement of cargo and vehicles to Chennai Port Trust round the clock. It said narration of the fact and study of the project has revealed that no one can deny that the express highway is an imminent necessity. For decongesting traffic and to create alternative necessity, the elevated express highway is required to mitigate traffic congestion and for movement of containers to the port.
A decision to have an elevated expressway from Tambaram to Chennai Port and one from Maduravoyal to Chennai Port at 19 km distance was conceived and accepted by the Central government, state government at the instance of Chennai Port Trust in consultation with NHAI, an expert body.
A stop work notice was issued on February 1 2012. On January 28, 2013 an order was passed to obtain necessary permission from the state government after fulfilling corrective measures and to get revised CRZ clearance. Construction activity of the mega project was stalled due to the notice, which NHAI challenged by way of PIL, praying for issuing directions to complete the project. The judge, quoting an apex court judgement, said advantages in completing the project outweighed alleged disadvantages and directed state PWD to co-ordinate and monitor free water flow along with NHAI and concessioner in Cooum River and all should work in tandem for early project completion/.
But the Jayalalitha regime, tenaciously maintains that advantages by the constructions of this elevated expressway was ‘comparitively not so great’. Can anyone make any sense with this argument. But still it goes unchallenged by the pliant media in Tamil Nadu. Similarly there had been not even a whisper or criticism on the State government stalling so many on-going highway projects causing loss of seven thousand crore rupees to the government exchequer. Will the self-professed informed and enlightened English media kept quiet had any other State government hamper so many projects of the Centre for the benefit of the respective State even while crying hoarse of ‘step-motherly treatment’ meted out to that State by the Centre?
Not only in such matters of infrastructural projects, but also in political and social matters the print and electronic media in the State never take critical approach to the changing and opportunistic stands of Jayalalitha and repeat ad verbatim whatever she states now while in the case of leaders of other political parties, particularly Kalaignar and DMK they trace back history of 60 years to ‘bring out’ seeming contradiction. For example, the English media do not fight shy to project her and one daily going up to hailing her as ‘emerging leader of world Tamils’, as champion of Eelam Tamils’ cause. It only they refer to their own records prior to April-May 2009 they can find out how much opposed she was to the very term ‘Eelam’ and how every statement of her were widely and prominently published/ aired by the Sinhala media. Almost in every issue, Jayalalitha has no permanent and firm stand and takes up different and even contradictory stands that bring her the most political benefit at a particular point of time. But the media conveniently closes its eyes and ears and willingly serve her game plan of hoodwinking people.
Knowingly or unknowingly but quite willingly, the media in Tamil Nadu are collaborating with and abetting the regime of Jayalalitha in creating a State of make-believe by lies, blatant lies and fictitious statistics, even while every sector in Tamil Nadu is fast deteriorating and every section of the society lament their mistake in voting her to power in 2011. The posterity definitely will not forgive both-Jayalalitha and the media!