‘Kallan Vijayan’ row costs editor his post as CPI(M) acts against party organ journo

Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) The CPI(M)-owned daily Deshabhimani has removed senior journalist K.R. Ajayan from charge of its weekend supplement in the aftermath of the controversial "Kallan Vijayan" headline episode, replacing him with T. Chandramohan after rejecting his explanation that the headline was neither inappropriate nor anti-party.

The disciplinary action comes days after Deshabhimani abruptly withdrew its July 19 weekend supplement before circulation.

The supplement's front page carried a special feature marking the first death anniversary of veteran Communist leader V.S. Achuthanandan, while its back page featured a profile of veteran theatre artiste Vijayan written by journalist T.C. Rajesh under the headline, “Kallan Vijayan, Dhanya Nadakagramam, Muthathippara P.O.”

According to reports, some members of the newspaper's editorial leadership feared the headline could be misinterpreted by political opponents and social media users as a reference to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. As a result, printing was halted, and the supplement was withheld. When it was published a day later, the article had been removed.

The headline itself referred to a theatre artiste popularly known as “Kallan” owing to a well-known stage role. Rajesh subsequently published the withdrawn article on Facebook under the same title and took responsibility for it.

Resident Editor M. Swaraj initially attributed the delay in publication to a technical issue. He later issued a show-cause notice to Ajayan, alleging that the latter had refused to provide details of the controversy to the media. Ajayan's explanation has now been rejected, resulting in his removal from the weekend supplement editor's post.

The episode has drawn attention because the CPI(M) has often positioned itself as a defender of freedom of expression and editorial independence. In this case, the article was neither banned by any authority nor restrained by a court order. Instead, the controversy stemmed from concerns within the newspaper's own editorial establishment over how the headline might be perceived.

In the end, the fallout from the “Kallan Vijayan” controversy did not affect the theatre artiste who inspired the story, but the editor who believed the headline could remain in print.

Source: IANS