Just days after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kummanam Rajasekharan was sworn in as the Governor of Mizoram, a complaint was filed against programme in popular Malayalam news channel ‘Manorama News’.
BJP State General Secretary MT Ramesh send a complaint to Arvind, IAS, Chief Secretary of Mizoram about the defamatory statement in a TV channel against the Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram Sri.Kummanam Rajashekharan.
According to the complaint, ‘Manorama News’ broadcasted a political satire programme named ‘Thiruva Ethirva’ making highly defamatory and slanderous remarks with respect to Kummanam Rajashekharan. The complaint was filed against Director of Manorama News Jony Lukose, Senior co-ordinating editor Romi Mathew and Thiruva Ethirva program host and producer TK Saneesh.
As per the complaint wrote by MT Ramesh:
In the said programme, the presenter has made defamatory utterances and innuendos with reference to the Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram Sri.Kummanam Rajashekharan. The said programme shows visuals of Sri. Kummanam Rajashekharan and that of Shri. Amit Shah, National President, BJP attending press conferences; and a Malayalam audio clip is played in synchronization with the video of Shri. Amit Shah, which would make it appear to the viewer as if Shri. Amit Shah is uttering the words “Every dog has a day” which is repeated again in Malayalam as “Ella Nayinde makkalkum oru divasam undu” referring to Shri.Kummanam Rajashekharan as “the dog” and his appointment as “the day”. These audio-visuals are played after the presenter speaks of Sri.Kummanam Rajashekharan being appointed as the Governor of Mizoram.
By presenting these audio-visuals in synchronization, the presenter has made distasteful and indecent innuendos ridiculing the Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram Sri.Kummanam Rajashekharan referring him as a dog. The broadcasting of such programme is nothing but slanderous, especially when the programme is broadcasted after the appointment of Sri.Kummanam Rajashekharan to the high Constitutional post of Governor of a State in the Union of India.
The programme, its broadcasting/telecasting and sharing the same through other social media including youtube has resulted in lowering the dignity of the Governor of Mizoram and the same is done with utter disregard to Constitution of India and the laws of the land.
The editor, the producer, the presenter and the broadcaster of the program have made imputations, directly as well as indirectly, which tend to lower the moral and intellectual character of Sri. Kummanam Rajashekharan as the Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram, in the estimation of others. By repeated broadcasting of the programme, the editor, the producer, the presenter and the broadcaster of the program have lowered the character of the Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram Sri. Kummanam Rajashekharan in respect of his calling and have also lowered his credit to hold the Constitutional post as the Governor of Mizoram.
MT Ramesh also quoted the Sections in Indian Penal Code which deals with the prosecution for defamation.
In the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the offense of defamation and the punishment thereof comes under Chapter 21 and the statement made in the political satire squarely comes under the definition of defamation. Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with prosecution for defamation, it said.
MT Ramesh also requested Mizoram Chief Secretary to initiate the necessary steps to entrust the matter to a Public Prosecutor of Mizoram and to file a complaint before the Competent Court. Also, he demands necessary action for the prosecution at the earliest and the perpetrators are brought before the law and punished accordingly.
Kummanam Rajasekharan, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit chief for three years, was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Mizoram. He replaced Lt. Gen. (retired) Nirbhay Sharma who completed his term on Monday after taking charge in May 2015.
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