KOZHIKODE: Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) will look into the possibility of taking over the Indiavision channel, said K P Muhammed Kutty, KMCC Saudi national committee president, at a press conference here on Wednesday.
"We are calling a meeting of the KMCC shareholders in the channel. After the meeting, a decision will be taken whether the KMCC has to take over the channel," he said.
The KMCC will give full freedom for the channel chairman M K Muneer to interfere in the editorial decisions, if we take over the channel, he said.
"The KMCC members have invested about Rs 20 crore in the Indiavision channel. As the correct amount of investment by KMCC members will be revealed only after the meetings, the major shareholders have accepted the KMCC move," he said.
The Saudi branch of KMCC alone has invested `8 crore in the channel, he claimed and when the investment was made, Muneer had promised that the channel would promote the interests of the IUML. "(However), what happened is just the opposite and so we are thinking about taking over the channel," he said.
"When the channel was started, it was told that within a short term the profit would be distributed. However, the shareholders have not received any benefits yet," he said.
"Muneer is saying that he has limitations in controlling the editorial team. If we take over, we will give him full control in the channel. We are not trying to control the channel financially but for the benefit of the community," he said.
Several of the shareholders in the channel are common people working in small kiosks and tea shops abroad. By telecasting 'false stories', the channel has broken the faith of these shareholders, he said.
By 'tarnishing' a leader like Kunhalikutty, the channel is eyeing to disgrace the whole party and sabotage the imminent victory in the coming Lok Sabha polls, he alleged.