Wayanad disaster: Kerala CM warns of legal action against media for ‘spreading lies’ about relief expenditure

Pinarayi Vijayan says ‘right-wing media’s felonious misinterpretation’ of the rough calculation of Kerala government’s estimate was tantamount to interference with administrative justice and entailed legal jeopardy

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has warned of legal action against a section of the media for “maliciously” portraying the government’s preparatory estimate of the probable outlay of the protracted search and rescue operations in landslides-hit Wayanad in the initial days of the disaster in July as the actual expense incurred by the State. 

At a press conference on Saturday (September 21, 2024), Mr. Vijayan said the “right-wing” media’s “felonious misinterpretation” of the rough calculation, submitted as a memorandum in the Kerala High Court in response to a suo motu petition, was tantamount to interference with administrative justice and entailed significant legal jeopardy.

Mr. Vijayan scathingly condemned the “anti-Left media’s” alleged attempt to diminish the sheen of Kerala’s Wayanad disaster response by deliberately disseminating falsehoods about exaggerated government spending.

He alleged that the media falsely insinuated that the government siphoned off disaster funds by inflating the everyday expenses involved in identifying and interring unclaimed bodies and body parts and providing succour to emergency responders, including volunteers, police and defence forces, and running relief camps.

Casting doubt in public mind

Mr. Vijayan said the misinformation campaign cast doubt in the public mind about the authenticity of the disaster-related expenses incurred by the State when the Centre was supposedly on the cusp of declaring the first tranche of its disaster assistance for the State. Moreover, Kerala’s demand for a special package for Wayanad was pending the Centre’s approval. 

He said the “fake news blitz” dimmed the public’s perception of the government’s integrity and transiently whittled down support for the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Mr. Vijayan accused the media of accepting a malefic quotation from “anti-Kerala forces” to scuttle Wayanad’s rehabilitation. 

He said the “rat race” between television channels had degenerated Kerala’s media landscape.

Jonathan Swift quoted

Mr. Vijayan said the fierce no-holds-barred competition between news outlets spawned fake news and erased ethical newsroom practices. Mr. Vijayan said “the truth and public interest” were the causalities. Quoting Irish author and poet Jonathan Swift, Mr. Vijayan said: “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.”

Mr. Vijayan said the government had prepared the approximation immediately after the disaster struck to give the Centre an idea of the anticipated expenses.

“The government did not conjure the figures from thin air. It prepared the estimate based on the strict provisions of Central norms”, he said.

“The falsehood about Wayanad expenses that spread like wildfire on conventional and social media is an attack on the people of Kerala and a disservice to the victims of the Wayanad disaster,” he said.

Published - September 21, 2024 03:04 pm IST