As the alleged flying kiss of reinstated Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi made the news on 9 August 2023, several articles and cartoons were published – some condemning the incident and some justifying it.
One such cartoon that caught The Commune’s attention was the one published by the English outlet of Puthiya Thalaimurai – The Federal. The handle had shared a caricature with the backdrop of the “flying kiss” depicting two Hindus referring to the “Kama Sutra” book and coming to the conclusion that since it was absent in this particular text, it must be a repulsive Western concept. The cartoon was created by one “artist” named Nala Ponnappa.
By @PonnappaCartoon: #RahulGandhiMP #FlyingKiss #ParliamentSession pic.twitter.com/lTgexfucUW
— The Federal (@TheFederal_News) August 9, 2023
The Federal is a division of New Generation Media Corporation Private Limited, launched by TR Parivendhar (TR Pachamuthu) the leader of Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi. Pachamuthu aligned with the BJP in the 2014 general elections and lost. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he contested and won in the Perumbalur constituency aligning with the DMK. In 2021, he aligned with Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. The Hindumisic cartoon comes even as his son Ravi Pachamuthu is expected to contest the Lok Sabha elections as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
This is not the first time that Puthiya Thalaimurai, which portrays itself as a neutral media has revealed its Leftist and Dravidian Stockist colours.
Earlier, Karthigaichelvan, who was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of the Tamil mainstream news channel had peddled hatred against Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times.
Back in 2015, he had shared a disparaging cartoon implying that the Union Government under Narendra Modi is being controlled by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This tweet has now been deleted by Karthigaichelvan.
Once he was called out by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for deliberately trying to peddle anti-Modi propaganda saying that the Centre was waiving off loans taken by corporates.
India’s FM Nirmala Sitharaman Ji is confronting the Anti-BJP propaganda of this journalist.
Upon exposing he is diverting it, as a clarification
Such Agenda driven people are joining @News18TamilNadu @News18India
Should we boycott your news channel ? pic.twitter.com/nhn1JcxhAY
— Tinku Venkatesh | ಟಿಂಕು ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ (@tweets_tinku) September 18, 2022
Puthiya Thalaimurai, the Tamil television news channel was also called out for its bias and was found to focus extensively on the debates surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical colleges.
In June 2018, Puthiya Thalaimurai was one of the television channels that provided a platform to individuals who incite violence among young people with their inflammatory statements, which frequently contain misleading information.
Some Tamil News Channels have off late been giving platforms to secessionists and provocative speakers who fuel Anti India sentiments, and they abuse elected representatives! These channels and it's editors should severely be dealt with! Hope @HMOIndia's radors monitor them.
— Ethirajan Srinivasan 🇮🇳🚩 (@Ethirajans) June 10, 2018
A case was filed following a chaotic altercation that erupted during a panel discussion hosted by the channel in Coimbatore. The discussion revolved around the topic of whether the protests within the state were driven by political motivations or stemmed from the pursuit of people’s rights. The skirmish broke out when Ameer Sultan (director) allegedly mentioned the killing of Hindu Munnani leader Sasikumar in Coimbatore in 2016. This reference was seemingly unrelated to the subject being discussed at the talk show hosted by the Puthiya Thalaimurai channel, which sparked a strong reaction and outcry from the attendees.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.