In an open infringement of free speech and possibly a case of political censorship, Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai was taken off air in several parts of Tamil Nadu minutes after the channel aired a ‘mood of the people’ survey from RK Nagar, where the upcoming bypolls are set to happen.
According to sources in the channel and viewers who have been reporting black-outs, the channel was taken off air in at least 15 districts, allegedly by the state-owned cable operator Arasu Cable, which has a monopoly over the cable distribution business. The channel was reportedly taken off air in Madurai, Theni, Karur, Kanchipuram, Tirupur, Namakkal, Ariyalur, Trichy, Dindigul and a few more districts.
This came after the channel aired results of a survey conducted in RK Nagar, which indicated that the OPS camp could be headed for a victory in RK Nagar, and showed Sasikala in poor light.
ஜெயலலிதாவின் உண்மையான அரசியல் வாரிசு யார் என்ற களஆய்வு விவரம் - மக்கள் கருத்து pic.twitter.com/2xWsqOECQE
— PuthiyathalaimuraiTV (@PTTVOnlineNews) April 6, 2017
ஆர்.கே.நகரின் நாடிக்கணிப்பு: அதிமுகவில் எடப்பாடி பழனிசாமி அல்லது ஓ.பன்னீர்செல்வம் இருவரில் யார் முதல்வர் பதவிக்கு பொருத்தமானவர்? pic.twitter.com/qdHiD4dGck
— PuthiyathalaimuraiTV (@PTTVOnlineNews) April 6, 2017
A source at the news channel said, “Our program was between 8 30pm and 10pm. As early as 9 10pm we started getting reports of black-outs. It started in Madurai and then spread to other districts.”
When asked if this was a backlash for the survey results, a top source in Puthiya Thalaimurai said that they believe so.
The source also said, “We are not going to give up, we will put up a fight.”
Several journalists in Tamil Nadu have raised their voice against the alleged censorship, stating that it is a strangulation of free speech and a blatant violation of the Constitution.
Tamil Nadu has a long history of political censorship, with parties in power often flexing their muscle through state-owned cable networks and their own TV channels to shape a favourable narrative.
#ArasuCable, the Govt owned MSO, a monster created by #Dmk on a filmsy pretext. They can switch off. All channels here are soft on Govt https://t.co/G5tjBk8U1Y
— R.K.Radhakrishnan (@RKRadhakrishn) April 7, 2017
When contacted by The News Minute, J Kumaragurubaran IAS, Managing Director of Arasu Cable said, “I don’t know about this, please do check in the field.”
You can watch the full show on the survey results on Puthiya Thalaimurai here: