THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The week-long drama that rocked Kerala’s socio-political conscience, causing a ministerial head to roll, has ended in an anti-climax with the channel that aired the sleazy audio clips purportedly incriminating the minister retracting it as a command performance.
But for Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who stood down in favour of his lone colleague Thomas Chandy for the ministerial berth within hours of airing the tape, it seems to be the end of the road, although Chandy has declared that once Saseendran proves his innocence, he would be welcome back.
It all began with the launch of Mangalam TV, a regional television channel on March 26. Desperate to make an impact on its first day, the channel aired two audio clips of a lewd phone talk. Curiously, the
conversation was edited in such a way that only the voice of a man was audible. Later, the channel claimed it was the voice of NCP leader and Transport Minister AK Saseendran.
Surprisingly, within hours of the expose, Saseendran announced his resignation owning moral responsibility. The unexpected twist not only put the Left Front in an awkward situation, but also raised questions on media ethics.
Though it was widely believed to be a honey trap, the channel kept denying it initially, saying the minister was talking to a woman who approached him with a complaint. There were also conspiracy theories doing the rounds.
Under fire from various quarters, especially the media fraternity, the channel finally offered an unconditional apology. CEO R Ajith Kumar admitted that it was a sting operation by a woman journalist.
Questions were also raised on the manner in which the minister chose to step down in less than three hours. While the Left termed it a case of high moral standards, it is believed that the senior politician may have feared an avalanche of allegations to follow. That could well explain why no defamation charges were pressed.
The resignation of the minister, second in 10 months after assuming office, was obviously a setback to the Pinarayi government’s image. It wasn’t a rosy picture for the LDF, which came to power with a thumping majority, as the whole episode had an uncanny resemblance to the occurrences during the previous UDF regime, which ultimately led to its undoing.
The first to go was CPI(M) central committee member E P Jayarajan, who quit after allegations of nepotism were levelled against him.
Saseendran confirmed to The Sunday Standard that there were no plans to file a defamation suit. “When such a report is out, you can either sue the channel, ask for the complainant to come out or press for an investigation. Being an LDF leader, who has expressed opinion on similar occasions earlier, I took the right decision,” he said.
The government has announced a judicial probe into the incident and appointed retired district judge PS Antony as the one-man commission. It will look into all aspects of the case, including a possible conspiracy angle.
The government has also set up a special team to probe the so-called sleazegate. The team has filed cases against nine people in the channel, including its CEO.
When NCP proposed Chandy’s name as the replacement for Saseendran, there were initial reports that the CPI(M) leadership, particularly the chief minister, had reservations.
But finally, the LDF decided to induct him as he was the only other MLA of the party. Chandy, who is a prominent NRI, is the richest MLA in the Assembly with declared assets of `92 crore. The week-long drama that rocked Kerala’s socio-political conscience, causing a ministerial head to roll, has ended in an anti-climax with the channel that aired the sleazy audio clips purportedly incriminating the minister retracting it as a command performance.
But for Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who stood down in favour of his lone colleague Thomas Chandy for the ministerial berth within hours of airing the tape, it seems to be the end of the road, although Chandy has declared that once Saseendran proves his innocence, he would be welcome back.
It all began with the launch of Mangalam TV, a regional television channel on March 26. Desperate to make an impact on its first day, the channel aired two audio clips of a lewd phone talk. Curiously, the
conversation was edited in such a way that only the voice of a man was audible. Later, the channel claimed it was the voice of NCP leader and Transport Minister AK Saseendran.
Surprisingly, within hours of the expose, Saseendran announced his resignation owning moral responsibility. The unexpected twist not only put the Left Front in an awkward situation, but also raised questions on media ethics.
Though it was widely believed to be a honey trap, the channel kept denying it initially, saying the minister was talking to a woman who approached him with a complaint. There were also conspiracy theories doing the rounds.
Under fire from various quarters, especially the media fraternity, the channel finally offered an unconditional apology. CEO R Ajith Kumar admitted that it was a sting operation by a woman journalist.
Questions were also raised on the manner in which the minister chose to step down in less than three hours. While the Left termed it a case of high moral standards, it is believed that the senior politician may have feared an avalanche of allegations to follow. That could well explain why no defamation charges were pressed.
The resignation of the minister, second in 10 months after assuming office, was obviously a setback to the Pinarayi government’s image. It wasn’t a rosy picture for the LDF, which came to power with a thumping majority, as the whole episode had an uncanny resemblance to the occurrences during the previous UDF regime, which ultimately led to its undoing.
The first to go was CPI(M) central committee member E P Jayarajan, who quit after allegations of nepotism were levelled against him.
Saseendran confirmed to The Sunday Standard that there were no plans to file a defamation suit. “When such a report is out, you can either sue the channel, ask for the complainant to come out or press for an investigation. Being an LDF leader, who has expressed opinion on similar occasions earlier, I took the right decision,” he said.
The government has announced a judicial probe into the incident and appointed retired district judge PS Antony as the one-man commission. It will look into all aspects of the case, including a possible conspiracy angle.
The government has also set up a special team to probe the so-called sleazegate. The team has filed cases against nine people in the channel, including its CEO.
When NCP proposed Chandy’s name as the replacement for Saseendran, there were initial reports that the CPI(M) leadership, particularly the chief minister, had reservations.
But finally, the LDF decided to induct him as he was the only other MLA of the party. Chandy, who is a prominent NRI, is the richest MLA in the Assembly with declared assets of `92 crore.