Television news channels are angry. Very angry.
First, they were outraged by the alleged ‘loot’ of donations made by the public to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Next, they were enraged by the fire in Aliganj, Lucknow, in which 15 people died. This comes just a few weeks after the news media questioned Delhi’s building and norms following the fire in a Malviya Nagar B&B which killed 21 people.
“This is no accident, this is murder, murder by negligence,” said CNN News 18 about the Lucknow fire.
It is easy to criticise the civic authorities when such tragedies occur. It is quite another to attack the custodians of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Anything associated with the Ram Mandir is usually sacrosanct. Besides its spiritual significance for crores of Hindus, it is the cornerstone of BJP’s Hindutva politics. TV news channels usually report on it with respect or at least tread carefully around it.
But here they are questioning the running of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and its finances, no holds barred.
News anchors like India TV’s Rajat Sharma called the alleged embezzlement of funds from Ram Mandir a ‘maha paap (giant sin)’.
Channels such as India Today, NDTV 24×7 and CNN News 18 saw it as a breach of public “trust” and of “faith betrayed” by the Trust, which handles the temple’s finances.
“Who stole the devotees trust?” asked NDTV 24×7.
Also read: Ram temple donation theft row: VHP demands FIR, quick probe, daily hearings by fast-track court
Unearthing the scam
What really upset many TV news anchors on channels like TV 8 Bharatvarsh was the “greed” and the “negligence” of those responsible for safekeeping the funds.
The Indian Express reported how, “6 yrs before SIT probe, audit firm flagged lack of ‘systemic record’ of Ram temple donations”.
Sushant Sinha on News 18 India said the “daan chori (stealing of donations)” was done by senior people in the Trust.
India TV’s Rajat Sharma claimed that members of the money counting team had bought themselves expensive cars, properties and built impressive houses.
Republic TV added that these people earn between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 a month—how then could they afford these luxuries?
“There appears to be a scam in the name of Ram Lalla,” concluded CNN News 18’s Rahul Shivshankar. He saw it as a blow to the Hindu civilisational cause and called upon “self-styled guardians of the faith” to stand up and “not become complicit in the acts of vandalism they have long fought against.”
After the Special Investigation Team, appointed by the Yogi Adityanath government to look into the allegations of financial impropriety, submitted its preliminary report to the government, TV anchors detailed the “scam’s kundali” (News 18 India).
The SIT’s interim findings indicated large-scale mismanagement of the financial system of the Ram Mandir Trust.
Television news channels spent most of Tuesday focused on the SIT’s findings and recommendations. They dwelled on “lapses” or the “laxity in cash handling”.
The strong language and the questions they ask of the Trust suggest they are on a mission to “unearth” the truth about the reported theft.
Also read: Delhi’s firefighters under strain. City has only 71 stations, 1,030 vacancies, old equipment
A failed system
On the fire in a Lucknow commercial complex, the news channels were even harsher. It gave them another opportunity to attack the “system”, just as they have done during earlier fatal fires.
Leading English dailies reported several “lapses”, including how the building escaped demolition despite a 2016 report by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) ordering it.
They also went after the authorities for allowing a residential plot to be used for commercial purposes.
“#System Failed Hai,” said ABP News. “There will be an investigation but will that bring back the lives of 15 people? Burn down such a system,” it asked.
News channels such as CNN News 18 reminded us that this was not a one-off incident. It went back all the way to the Uphaar cinema tragedy in 1997.
This was a recurring sentiment across the news media. The Hindustan Times wrote that the tragedy once again underlined, “the fatal consequences of rampant fire safety violations in recent blazes across the country.”
The Indian Express saw it as a stain on India’s reputation—“A recurring, preventable tragedy in Lucknow”
“It’s high time policymakers realised the loss of lives also takes a high toll in terms of eroding the credibility of the country’s institutions,” it wrote.
TV news is always more melodramatic and brutal. An anchor on Times Now Navbharat (TNNB) said, “This is not the picture of just Lucknow but of all cities in India… Your child could be the next victim.”
We heard from families who had lost their children, we looked at the charred remains of the interiors of the building.
Again and again, news channels pointed out the many major lapses as their reporters walked through the premises: No safety norms were followed, only one entry-exit point, no emergency exit, doors digitally locked, ACs and wires in the stairwell making it impossible to escape, no NOC from authorities.
“Who is responsible?” asked R.Bharat.
“Who has blood on their hands?” asked India Today.
Armed with the zeal of a campaign, TV news channels visited coaching centres in cities such as Jaipur, Delhi-NCR, Kanpur, Varanasi. They found many of them were sealed and others flouting norms.
In Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, Times Now Navbharat tracked down the owner of a building that looked decidedly iffy and although the owner claimed he had a NOC, he didn’t produce it. He said there would be no fire on the premises.
“Is he waiting for an accident to happen?” asked the TNNB reporter.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)