'Baseless charges'

Ms. Irene Gupta, Senior Producer, Line of Fire, UTV, writes:

I am writing in connection with the article entitled `Playing up indiscretions' on Page 11 of TheHindu on Saturday, May 26th, 2001. Although the article does not say so it clearly refers to the statements made by Mr. Tarun Vijay, the Editor of Panchajanya, on Line of Fire a programme made by UTV for SAB TV. I presume that the press release you refer to in the article is the press release issued on behalf of SAB TV regarding the comments made by Mr. Vijay in this programme.

Your article makes several tendentious and unsubstantiated allegations. For instance, you claim that Mr. Vijay ``found himself sufficiently wheedled into appearing on a panel discussion''. The truth of the matter is that Mr. Vijay was invited and twenty-four hours later accepted without demur. The only clarification he asked for was the names of the other panelists. There is therefore no question of him being ``wheedled into appearing''.

Secondly your article refers dismissively to the subject of the discussion as ``differences, if any, between the RSS and the Vajpayee Government''. I must say I am surprised by the use of the phrase `if any'. Your own daily coverage of the subject virtually disproves you.

Then, thirdly, your article claims that the press release ``simply zeroes in on Mr. Vijay accusing the Finance Minister of `arrogance of power'.'' Once again the truth of the matter is that Mr. Vijay was the only person to do this and he did it on two separate occasions. The comments made by the other panelists were comparatively innocuous and not particularly worthy of drawing attention to.

Fourthly, your article claims at its start that ``the electronic media in India is finessing the art of cranking up a controversy where none should exist''. Does this mean that it is not controversial to accuse the Finance Minister of ``the arrogance of power'' and of treating people such as the BMS and their supporters in the RSS as if they were ``murkh'' (fools)? Perhaps you might think it is normal for close allies of the Government, such as Mr. Vijay, to accuse the Finance Minister and other unnamed BJP ministers of arrogance but I think most other people would regard it as unusual and very possibly worthy of reporting.

Finally and most dismayingly I notice that your article claims that ``probably before Mr. Vijay was out of the studio, the press release landed on news editors' desks inviting their attention'' to Mr. Vijay's remarks. I am afraid once again this is not just untrue but wilfully so. The programme in which Mr. Vijay appeared was recorded on Tuesday. The press release was sent out on behalf of SAB TV on Friday. The reason it was sent out on Friday is because the programme will be broadcast on Saturday and, understandably, the channel wished to draw attention to the programme on the morning of its telecast so that more people would watch it. I cannot see why your paper should find that difficult to understand. It is normal practice all over the world.

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