Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan denies engaging any PR agency, lauds The Hindu’s editorial ethics

Pinarayi Vijayan asks the media not to drag him into market-driven rivalry for ratings

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday (October 3, 2024) sought to dispel the Opposition’s accusation that his office had contracted a public relations (PR) agency to liaise with the national media.

Speaking to journalists at the Government Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Vijayan also extolled The Hindu’s irreproachable editorial legacy of promptly rectifying, on record, inaccuracies that sometimes find their way into print.

Mr. Vijayan was fielding a barrage of questions about his office’s objection to attributing economic offences, primarily gold smuggling and hawala racketeering, to a particular region and people in a copy that appeared in The Hindu’s national pages on September 30.

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stated that Mr. Vijayan had made no such observation during an interview with The Hindu at the Kerala House in New Delhi on September 29. Subsequently, The Hindu issued a correction stating that it was added at the instance of a PR representative who organised the meeting.

Mr. Vijayan said The Hindu had shown the courage and the conviction to admit the error, which he said was rare in modern-day competitive journalism. “The Hindu has taken a very accurate position and upheld the highest standards in journalism. I wish I could say the same about other channels,” Mr. Vijayan said.

He clarified that the CMO had not contracted any private agency to transact with the media. Mr. Vijayan said the son of a former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] legislator had called on him at the Kerala House and said The Hindu had requested an interview. 

“Being The Hindu, I was interested and agreed. The Hindu newsperson told me she was from Ottapalam in Palakkad, and we limited the interview to 30 minutes because I had to attend the party’s Central Committee meeting. Another person unknown to me and the former MLA’s son were in the room. I presumed that the anonymous individual might be part of The Hindu’s editorial team”, he added. 

Mr. Vijayan said the averment that the former MLA’s son had later sent The Hindu an e-mail seeking the inclusion of the controversial statement as the Chief Minister’s words warranted scrutiny. “I knew the youngster also as a party activist. He has not contacted me since the news broke”, he added.

Mr. Vijayan also asked the media not to drag him into the market-driven rivalry for ratings. “You (media houses) are free to pursue damaging me. But I am not easily shattered”, he added.

Published - October 03, 2024 02:42 pm IST