The political agenda of our Tamil dailies

One news has been hogging the highlight in Makkal Osai for the past month or so - that of the sudden death of drama actress K Sujatha.

The daily has been running countless stories - mostly by quoting sources and PKR supreme council member S Manikavasagam - alluding that the actress did not die a natural death.

The daily was also fast in naming names - from Vell Paari (who was Sujatha’s boss) to the doctor who treated her, whom the daily says had a hand in hiding the truth.

It reported about how Sujatha’s lover showered her with a luxurious lifestyle, on how she was assaulted prior to her admission to a hospital. That she had confided to some people on what had actually happened to her etc.

In all, one agenda was clear - this daily want to blame Sujatha’s death on one person and by doing so, thinks the person’s political father (the great leader of the community) will fall.

Again, this is not surprising at all. After all Makkal Osai is a firm supporter of the politician who failed to unseat the powerful great leader of the community.

Closely behind we have Malaysia Nanban , once aligned to the same failed politician, but still consider itself as the ‘enemy’ of the great leader.

As such this daily too continues to run stories on the sudden death of Sujatha, but it apparently knows its limits - no names mentioned, no unsubstantiated claims etc.

And then finally we have Tamil Nesan - a daily where Vell Paari is the CEO. Naturally then there is no mention on the ongoing calls for investigations into the death of Sujattha.

The daily did however give prominence to Vell Paari’s denial of any involvement in the death. And today it ran a huge front page story about Sentul police chief K Kumaran suing Makkal Osai and Manikavasagam for RM10 million for suggesting that he was covering up a murder.

Also in Tamil Nesan, for the past two days, an unnamed author has also been picking holes in Makkal Osai's stories on Sujatha.

Below is a snapshot of how the three leading Tamil dailies ran the Sujatha story today:

Front page:

Malaysian Nanban led with a claim by PKR supreme council member S Manikavasagam that he was offered money by certain political leaders to drop his crusade to find out the truth in the mysterious death of drama actress K Sujatha.

The daily also quoted sources that Sujatha was admitted in the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang with injuries in her body. She is believed to have committed suicide by consuming paraquat.

Makkal Osai, who has been regularly publishing articles in their front page on the circumstances surrounding the death of Sujatha, continued in the same vein, this time highlighting a police report lodged by Manikavasagam asking for a investigation to be done on the doctor who treated Sujatha before she died.

Tamil Nesan had neither of these stories but it led with a RM10 million defamation suit filed by Sentul police chief ACP K Kumaran Manikavasagam and Makkal Osai over alleged ‘defamatory' remarks made against him pertaining to Sujatha's death.

Both Malaysia Nanban and Makkal Osai mentioned the defamation suit in their front page.

I am sure the agenda battle will continue in days to come. Watch out!