"WHOM to believe ?" is a question that has been posed to the people of Tamil Nadu. Ever since Sun TV, the dominant Tamil television channel, started telecasting the arrest of M. Karunanidhi continuously from early in the morning of June 30, the way he was jostled, pushed and bodily lifted by the police, the people of Tamil Nadu agonised over this affront to human dignity. As viewers all over the country watched the video footage, sympathy for the 78-year old president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and former Chief Minister swelled. People were angry at the unchanging ways of the Jayalalithaa dispensation. Sun TV also showed broken door latches, cut telephone lines and so on at Karunanidhi's residence.
Sun TV quickly cashed in on this sympathy wave. (Sun TV is managed by Kalanidhi Maran, son of Murasoli Maran, Union Commerce Minister and Karunanidhi's nephew). It invited viewers to phone in and give their reactions, and also to get in touch with the offices of the Prime Minister and the President. There was a flood of calls from all over the country. One man who phoned in said that although he was a supporter of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), he could not believe that the police could be so rude to a former Chief Minister, and that too without caring for his age. Sun TV kept telecasting the clippings on June 30 and July 1.
The situation, however, changed when Chennai Police Commissioner K. Muthukaruppan played video footage to show how the process of arrest was calm in the beginning, with Karunanidhi cooperating with the police, and it changed materially when Murasoli Maran arrived and started questioning the nature of the arrest. The Police Commissioner claimed that the "problem" began when a person in Karunanidhi's household pushed the former Chief Minister.
Now it was the turn of Jaya TV, which has only a small fraction of Sun TV's reach and influence, to go to town with this video footage. (Jaya TV is managed by T.T.V. Dinakaran, AIADMK leader, Lok Sabha member, and nephew of Sasikala Natarajan, a close associate of Jayalalithaa.) Through the night of July 1, it kept telecasting footage that showed policemen standing politely in Karunanidhi's home, Karunanidhi and his wife Rajathi Ammal coming out smiling, their daughter Kanimozhi also coming out, and so on. Murasoli Maran arrives there and a row breaks out.
On July 2 too Jaya TV kept telecasting this "special news bulletin." Not to be outdone, AIADMK legislators and party leaders advertised in Tamil newspapers on July 2 inviting viewers to watch Jaya TV's special bulletins. One such advertisement said: "What did really happen when the police went to arrest Karunanidhi? Mysteries are being unravelled. Don't fail to watch the Jaya TV special bulletin in a rare cassette that brings out the truth."
Sun TV took up the challenge. It too put out special bulletins the same day with video clips in which Karunanidhi calmly comes out of his room, then a person wearing a coloured shirt and sporting a moustache moves towards Karunanidhi, pushes him, and Karunanidhi falls. Following this, there are desperate shouts, Rajathi Ammal raises a plaintive cry and policewomen drag her away. And the Sun TV announcer says: "The man who pushed down Karunanidhi is Mohammed Ali, DIG, CB-CID. He is not an unidentified person as Muthukaruppan claimed" at the press conference. The Sun TV announcer added: "The video clip shown was not released by Sun TV. We express our gratitude to Muthukaruppan who released it."
A few minutes later, Jaya TV put out a special bulletin alleging that the DMK was making political capital out of Karunanidhi's arrest, and that Murasoli Maran and his family members created the disturbances in "a planned manner." The video clip showed Karunanidhi and his wife calmly coming out smiling, one of Maran's sons being present there, Maran arriving on the scene, Maran punching DIG Mohammed Ali in the face, and Mohammed Ali clutching his face. Then howls fill the air. Jaya TV also showed Union Minister T.R. Baalu having a row with the police, pushing them, and yelling at them, "I am a Union Minister. Open the gates." Besides, Jaya TV showed a video clipping of Maran driving up to the gates of the CB-CID office in his car and the car engine revving up. The announcer claims that Maran crashed his car into the gates.
Which version of the truth, as evidenced by rival TV clips, will prevail? This is the question before the people of Tamil Nadu.
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