The conspicuous silence of Neelam Social and other Dravidian media outlets in Tamil Nadu speaks volumes following the recent incident involving HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu. When questioned by a Neelam Social reporter about the ongoing sanitary workers’ protest in Chennai, the minister dismissively retorted, “I’m here to speak to journalists, not you.”
Instead of condemning this arrogant and disrespectful behavior which clearly undermines journalistic dignity Neelam Social casually reported the incident without any criticism. Even other Dravidianist media houses chose to look the other way, refusing to call out the minister’s condescending tone.
நீங்க என்ன PRESS? நீலம்
பேச்சுவார்த்தையா? என்ன பேச்சுவார்த்தை?
– அமைச்சர் சேகர் பாபுLink: https://t.co/OkbrPj0PjD#Sanitaryworkers | #sekarbabu | #Neelamsocial pic.twitter.com/dJHkXj8JWy
— Neelam Social (@NeelamSocial) August 9, 2025
Now imagine if the same exchange had occurred with a Union Minister say, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the reaction would have been dramatically different. The Neelam Culture Centre would have likely been up in arms, staging performative outrage, and Tamil Nadu’s Dravidianist media would have sensationalized the incident with endless primetime debates and scathing editorials. But when it comes to DMK ministers, these so-called defenders of press freedom suddenly lose their voice.
Take, for instance, the 2023 floods in Tamil Nadu. During the crisis, the Dravidian-aligned media appeared more interested in provoking Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman than in seeking genuine accountability. Reporters framed their questions to deflect blame from the state government and pin it on the Centre. Yet, despite the clear bias, Sitharaman remained composed and responded with facts drawn from her personal experience.
One reporter pointed to alleged communication gaps between central and state authorities, citing a 2015 South Asian Conference that had also failed to predict rainfall accurately. He asked, “Similarly in October 2015 a South Asian Conference was held, where they expected it to rain 150 times, but that also missed the mark. The reason is that while there are scientists and technical experts discussing these things at both the central and state levels, there is no proper communication mechanism between the central and state administrations. This issue keeps happening every time. So, what’s a solution?”
Rather than take offense, Sitharaman answered calmly, “You’re asking a good question. In 2015, I personally went to Ambattur. I walked through the floods, went inside, and saw how the people in the estate were doing, what losses the MSME units had incurred, and where the waterways were blocked. When there’s a lot of water flowing, it’s supposed to follow its path to the sea, but I saw that it was all blocked by various constructions. The industrial estate people themselves told me this. Besides that, I’ll mention something now that I forgot to say earlier. On the 19th itself, the insurance companies were asked to go to Chennai and sit at the Ambattur estate. I asked the delegation, ‘Is there a place for the insurance companies to sit, or should they go somewhere else?’ They said, ‘No, we’ll give them space in our estate; please send them.’ We sent all the insurance companies and instructed them to immediately provide relief to the affected people. So, the central government keeps doing its work, but the state government will insert four questions like this towards you and tell you to keep asking us. We’ll keep answering. The action they should have taken is this: After the 2015 Ambattur floods, Ambattur is an industrial hub, and if the industries there are affected, it impacts Tamil Nadu’s revenue. What lesson did you learn after the 2015 floods? What did you do based on that lesson? If you had acted on that lesson, the recent floods wouldn’t have stagnated in Ambattur, and every industry there wouldn’t have been affected. The delegation that came to see me asks, ‘Why are we suffering from this since 2015?’ You’re asking about the central and state governments; we are continuously working. I am not giving you all the details because I want to keep my opening statement concise and crisp. The question is, what action was taken in Tamil Nadu? Today, Ambattur in Tamil Nadu is submerged. We are only giving money, and we are still giving it. What happened there? A bridge built under a railway line is causing the water to turn back into the estate. Is that the central government’s responsibility? Go and ask the people in the industries there.”
And yet, despite her detailed response, these same media spun the narrative with misleading headlines like “‘The state government will make you ask four questions are we supposed to keep answering?’ deliberately portraying Nirmala Sitharaman as angry or evasive picture.
Similarly in another display of agenda-driven reporting, Sun News falsely claimed that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had stated, “We cannot announce the severe flood damages in Tamil Nadu as a national disaster,” in the same press conference but on the contrary she stated, “There is no practice of announcing any disaster, in any state, at any time, by any government (of India) as a National Disaster. Since there is a lot of interest in Tamil Nadu, even the Tsunami of December 2004 (UPA with partner DMK) was not declared as National Disaster.”
There is no practice of announcing any disaster, in any state, at any time, by any government (of India) as National Disaster. Since there is a lot of interest in TN, even Tsunami of December 2004 (UPA with partner DMK) was not declared as Natl. Disaster. 1/3
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 22, 2023
This selective outrage is becoming the new norm in Tamil Nadu media where the standard of journalistic dignity depends on which party is in power. If it’s the DMK, media houses twist themselves into silence or excuses. If it’s anyone else, they cry foul with maximum volume.
The late-night interaction between the Neelam reporter and Sekar Babu was telling. When the journalist raised a legitimate point reminding the minister of a promise made by the Chief Minister in 2021 when he was still in opposition Sekar Babu dismissively replied, “He didn’t make you any promise.” He then questioned, “Which press are you from?” Upon hearing the response, “Neelam Press,” the minister doubled down, stating, “I’m meeting the journalists, not you. Only journalists should ask. Let them ask.”
நள்ளிரவு வரை பேச்சுவார்த்தை, விடிய விடிய ஆலோசனை.
மூன்றாம் கட்ட பேச்சுவார்த்தையின் விளக்கம். – அமைச்சர் சேகர் பாபு.#Sanitaryworkers | #sekarbabu | #Neelamsocial pic.twitter.com/fH6bqfYAD4— Neelam Social (@NeelamSocial) August 9, 2025
This wasn’t just a matter of political arrogance it was a clear attempt to delegitimize a media outlet based on its ideological affiliation, and yet, not a word of protest from the very same ecosystem that usually claims to defend free speech and press rights.
If press dignity matters, it should matter regardless of which party the minister belongs to. The silence from Neelam and their ideological allies only exposes the deep-rooted double standards within Tamil Nadu’s media landscape.
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