News Tamil Nadu

Puthiya Thalaimurai Journo Niranjan Kumar’s Dubious Journalism – Unsuccessful Attempts At Setting A Narrative Against Modi 3.0

June 10, 2024
The Commune

Niranjan Kumar, a journalist affiliated with Puthiya Thalaimurai TV (PTTV), has yet again come under scrutiny for a series of posts aimed at shaping narratives and promoting the Congress and I.N.D.I alliance. Despite claiming to be based in New Delhi on his social media accounts, Kumar has been criticized for failing to provide accurate data and instead resorting to simply copying and pasting information from Google searches that align with his own views.

During this recent election season, Kumar seemingly expressed a strong desire for the victory of the Congress, but when that did not materialize, he was seen celebrating the success of the DMK like several other Dravidianist journalists.

One of his recent posts, following Narendra Modi’s swearing-in for a third term as Prime Minister of India, attracted people’s attention. Kumar misleadingly stated on his X account that Modi’s third cabinet did not include any members directly elected from Tamil Nadu. This assertion raised questions about the logic behind such a claim, given that the DMK, as the opposition, secured victory in all Lok Sabha seats. It seemed as if he was suggesting to PM Modi that he add DMK members to the cabinet.  

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Important: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third cabinet did not include a single member of parliament directly elected from Tamil Nadu. L Murugan, Nirmala Sitharaman, and others have also been elected to Rajya Sabha from other states.”

In the subsequent post, Niranjan Kumar peddled a narrative concerning Ravneet Singh Bittu, a former Congress member, who secured a seat in the Union Cabinet despite facing defeat in Ludhiana, Punjab. However, the rationale behind giving him a cabinet position is unknown, it is noteworthy that Bittu is the grandson of Beant Singh, a prominent figure in Punjab’s anti-militancy campaign. Beant Singh was assassinated during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Punjab. Notably, two Khalistani sympathizers, Amritpal Singh, and Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, emerged victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, despite being incarcerated on terrorism charges in Dibrugarh jail. However, Niranjan did not mention anything about it.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Ravneet Singh Bittu has been given a seat in the Union Cabinet despite his defeat in Punjab’s Ludhiana. (just saying)”

In Tamil Nadu, the opposition mocked the 39 MPs’ victory of the DMK, suggesting they ‘they going to eat samosas in the canteen‘. This criticism deeply affected Dravidian journalist Niranjan Kumar, who staunchly buttressed the DMK MPs by pointing out that even BJP (indirectly) MLAs, who secured seats in the legislature, are going to eat samosas in canteens. This tweet seems to underscore his loyalty and sympathy towards the DMK.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Opposition MPs are going to the canteen to eat samosas But the reality is that the legislatures also have canteens and samosas“

In another post, Niranjan attempted to convey that in Narendra Modi’s recent speech, he did not mention the specter (sengol), implying that Modi, after his defeat in Tamil Nadu, refrained from praising the state, as he usually does wherever he goes, extolling the Tamil language and culture. However, despite the absence of a specific mention of the specter, he did highlight Tamil Nadu’s significant double-digit percentage growth and commended the state’s faith in the BJP and NDA. Instead of acknowledging this fact, the Dravidianist journo attempted to divert attention by focusing on something else in PM Modi’s NDA speech.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Interesting: Prime Minister Modi did not mention the scepter even once in his very long speech“

In two other posts, Niranjan Kumar raised concerns about the removal of statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar in the Parliament complex. However, this claim was promptly refuted and labeled as a fake narrative with the Parliament secretariat clarifying that the statues were being relocated systematically and respectfully within the Parliament House complex. Despite this clarification from the secretariat, the so-called Delhi-based journalist chose not to acknowledge or convey their statement, instead opting to propagate the narrative of the Congress party.

This post raises the question of whether Niranjan Kumar is indeed a journalist based in Delhi or if he is from 24, Akbar Road, New Delhi.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “The Congress party has alleged that the statues of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and the architect of the Constitution of India, Ambedkar, are being removed and placed in a corner. Congress alleges that BJP has started insulting political leaders“

In the subsequent post, Niranjan Kumar wrote, “The issue of removal of statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar in the Parliament complex has created a lot of turmoil among other political parties. Statements of condemnation continue to come in from various quarters“

Niranjan Kumar, along with other sympathizers of the Congress, expressed joy when the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, secured 240 seats, considering it a victory for a minority government. They spread the narrative that Chandrababu Naidu would challenge the NDA. However, Niranjan and his fellow Congress sympathizers were left embarrassed when he declared his full support for Narendra Modi’s third term.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met and congratulated Chandrababu Naidu, who is set to take over as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, at the Delhi airport. The Indian political scene keeps giving many major surprises every second.”

In one of his posts, he shared that old social media posts of Chandrababu Naidu criticizing Prime Minister Modi have resurfaced and are now going viral. Naidu had previously criticized Modi for allegedly undermining constitutional institutions. However, we know the individual behind the resurgence of these posts and it is way apparent from his frequent posts.

Niranjan Kumar wrote, “Chandrababu Naidu’s old social media posts criticizing Prime Minister Modi are now going viral Chandrababu Naidu had criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for destroying all constitutional institutions.“

In subsequent posts, Niranjan Kumar, driven by his animosity towards the BJP and Narendra Modi, unscrupulously disseminated false data without conducting any proofreading or fact-checking. Even readily available data on platforms like Wikipedia contained accurate information, yet he chose to disregard it all in his attempt to defame Modi. Presumably, some news outlets highlighted the actual results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stating, “In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi triumphed over Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party with a substantial margin of 674,664 votes, securing 63.62 percent of the total votes.” However, this misguided journalist, Niranjan, lacking even basic language consciousness, blindly propagated false data regarding the winning margin. The correct data was 4,79,505.

Niranjan wrote, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Varanasi constituency Prime Minister Modi, who faced setbacks in the first four rounds, won by a margin of just 1.5 lakh votes. He had won the last election by a margin of more than six lakh votes. A few hours after the election results, he thanked the people of his constituency.”

Niranjan wrote, “Big breaking: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins Varanasi constituency. Last time Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won the Varanasi constituency by a margin of 6 lakh 76 thousand votes, this time he won by a margin of 1 lakh 60 thousand votes. This time he got lesser votes than the margin of victory last time. Congress’s Ajay Rai has secured more than 4 lakh votes.”

In another instance, Niranjan propagated the narrative circulated by the DMK that Prime Minister Modi commenced his speech at the BJP headquarters with the phrase “Jai Jagannath.” While this statement held truth, the context behind it was that was different as the BJP had secured a significant victory in Odisha, where the Jagannath Temple is located. However, this alleged journalist opted to spin the narrative, suggesting that Modi’s shift from “Jai Shree Ram” to “Jai Jagannath” was due to a perceived defeat in Ayodhya.

Niranjan wrote, “Prime Minister Modi started his speech at the BJP headquarters by saying Jai Jagannath.“

 Furthermore, in a particularly distasteful post, he trivialized a common topic of conversation by asking his followers about their breakfast and lunch choices. However, the underlying motive behind this seemingly innocuous query became apparent when considering the recent defeat of K. Annamalai, the Tamil Nadu BJP president, in Coimbatore. Following Annamalai’s loss, the DMK reportedly engaged in a grotesque display, publicly beheading a goat with Annamalai’s photo affixed to it, symbolizing his defeat. The DMK went as far as to refer to Annamalai as the goat, citing his background as an agricultural farmer who once mentioned that he was unashamed of his roots in goat herding.

Niranjan wrote, “So guys what’s for breakfast? What do you want for lunch???”

 The lamentable truth lies in the behavior of certain journalists affiliated with news agencies in Delhi, who consistently propagate false information and push their own ideologies, disregarding factual accuracy. Despite being aware of the actual facts, they choose to conceal the truth. This pattern represents a recurring theme in the journalism landscape of Tamil Nadu, where the fourth estate consistently fails to uphold its duty to inform accurately and objectively.

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