Asianet is no BBC; SFI's 'revolution' in Kochi

Kerala stands as an anomaly from the rest of the nation. The only state that the CPM holds sway in India and more than that works as a bastion for free speech. Any incident of attack on journalists across India will be condemned first by the left factions and their assorted journalist groups in Kerala. Only then the rest of India starts pondering over the case. However, appalling to the core, the same bastion yesterday felt the same tremors of dissent that is familiar to the journalist of the north. The Asianet office in Kochi was barged by a group of SFI workers with disparaging banners which they tied inside the office.

Asianet recently did a scoop about the rampant use of drugs and banned substances in Kerala. They also brought into light, the hidden roles of SFI students and members who are in cohorts with such gangs. Clear to say, such a scathing one won’t sit well with the young revolutionary students' organization. They barged into the office in protest shoving away the security guards who made some feeble attempt to stop the many from entering the office. Slogans went blared and the working got staled inside the office. The scenes were unprecedented and this was led by the same CPM-affiliated student organization that stands as an apostle for press freedom in the country. And now, the happenings will go like a deftly scripted film. The police will make some namesake arrests and student leaders will walk away free with slowly the news fading from public light.

This comes from the condescending angle that there always exists some upper echelons in power to bail them out from any crisis. For the media, not every piece of news will favor good among the political parties. And considering the news channel, Asianet has a reputation and ranks among the best in Kerala for its unbiased take on news. Some news may not sit well with party cadres, but an instant act of retaliation is the least expected from the left political milieu.

During the BBC saga, the same SFI initiated a screening of the infamous documentary on Modi as an answer to the BJP's aversion to press freedom. And now, riding on the same bus, the SFI has barged in protest against one news channel office simply because they didn’t like the news. It doesn’t need a morse code to figure that all political parties are just sides of a coin.