A march by the joint council of trade unions to the offices of a news channel in protest against "incitement of physical violence" against CITU leader Elamaram Kareem, MP, by a prominent member of the television commentariat has emerged as the latest battlefront between the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)].
Mr. Kareem had accused the media of ignoring the real issues that impelled the national strike, including the Centre's anti-worker labour policy, spiralling fuel prices and the rising cost of living, and, instead, focussing on incidents of scant importance.
Mr. Kareem said the media had highlighted isolated incidents of minor violence and minimal inconvenience faced by commuters and blindsided the public to livelihood issues that forced the 48-hour strike on workers.
The presenter latched on to Mr. Kareem's words to highlight the perceived disdain of trade unions for the fundamental rights of citizens, primarily freedom of movement and entitlement to pursue their livelihood. The presenter suggested that Mr. Kareem face the predicament of commoners caught in the national strike to understand their misery.
The presenter's comments provoked the wrath of trade unions that marched to the offices of the news broadcaster.
CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan accused the presenter of inciting violence against Mr. Kareem. Objective and non-partisan journalists should condemn the incident. The CPI(M) would weigh whether to participate in discussions anchored by the presenter. However, it would not boycott the channel, he said.
Intolerance: Satheesan
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan condemned the CPI(M)'s targeting of the media. He said the march by the trade unions to the offices of the news channel smacked of the Left's growing intolerance of the independent press. He said the Congress would give strict instructions to the INTUC not to resort to violence or infringe on citizens' freedom during shutdowns.
The news channel has not officially commented on the issue.
