Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11 (IANS) Kerala BJP President, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Tuesday said that reports appearing in the media about the party’s State Core Committee were completely false and factually incorrect.

It was on Monday the committee meeting was held here.

The BJP strongly protests against attempts by certain journalists to turn imaginary accounts of events that never took place in the Core Committee into sensational stories, he said.

He said both the national and State leaderships of the BJP had expressed their complete confidence in State general secretary Adv. S. Suresh.

Reports that criticism was raised against Suresh in the Core Committee were completely untrue, Chandrasekhar who represents the Nemom Assembly constituency here said.

He expressed confidence that BJP workers and supporters would not fall for such false propaganda allegedly being spread by vested interests.

If the intention of some people was to discredit the party before the public, that attempt would fail, he said.

Chandrasekhar said the party had repeatedly made it clear to the media that there were no irregularities in connection with the Assembly elections.

Yet, continuing to spread claims that discussions which never took place had taken place was not in keeping with journalistic ethics, he said.

“It is unfortunate that even media organisations which have earned public credibility over more than a century are publishing reports about events that never happened, without even one per cent of factual basis,” he said.

He also questioned what he described as the media’s disproportionate interest in the BJP’s internal affairs.

“Those who remain silent on serious issues directly affecting the country and society, and hesitate to respond to political forces taking anti-national positions, and remain speechless in the face of a government that is even reluctant to sing ‘Vande Mataram’, their excessive interest and enthusiasm in the internal matters of the BJP is not healthy,” Chandrasekhar said.

Describing the media as the fourth pillar of democracy, he said it had a responsibility to society and to facts.

Giving excessive prominence to baseless reports while failing to focus adequately on issues that genuinely affect society would undermine not only the credibility of the media but also harm society, he said.

“As a public worker, I have something very simple to say: Check the facts before the news. Seek the truth before the controversy. Journalistic ethics must be placed above political interests,” he said.

Protecting the credibility of the media was not merely the responsibility of the media itself, but also that of everyone who believes in democracy, the BJP State president added.

–IANS

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