Letter to the Hoot: Unfair charge

BY Siddharth Varadarajan| IN Opinion | 30/10/2012
For a site dedicated to media criticism, the least we expect is that you do some sort of fact checking. The Hindu -- under Mr. N. Ram's editorship -- extensively highlighted the allegations against RIL over KG basin gas.
SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN responds to ‘Visible change’ on the Hoot. Pix: Jaipal Reddy
You have been very unfair to Mr Ram in this Hoot snippet:
Visible change
Posted/Updated Monday, Oct 29 11:55:57, 2012

Several papers and a TV channel have reported that Petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy losing his portfolio had a lot to do with his refusal to give in to pressure from Reliance Industries on gas pricing and other issues. But The Hindu’s prominent front page story on the issue is interesting for another reason. It would not have been carried under the editorship of N Ram which saw very careful reporting on the Ambanis.
For a site dedicated to media criticism, the least we expect is that you do some sort of fact checking.
The Hindu -- under Mr. N. Ram's editorship -- extensively highlighted the allegations against RIL over KG basin gas. I know because as Chief of National Bureau at the time, I discussed the matter extensively with him, and I can place on record that he kept pushing me to get the full text of the CAG's damning report on gold-plating by RIL in the KG basin as quickly as possible. Our Oil and Gas Correspondent Sujay Mehdudia wrote most of the pieces, all of which were run prominently by Mr Ram during his tenure on P1, Oped or the lead national news or business page.
Here is just a smattering of those reports, all of which date back to 2011. Mr. Ram, incidentally, was Editor-in-Chief till January 19, 2012.
With CAG storm brewing for RIL, Jaipal meets Manmohan
The CAG has come down heavily on the working of the Petroleum Ministry as well as the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and their “dubious role'' in giving “undue benefit” to Mukesh Ambani's RIL.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2103829.ece

RIL got ‘huge, undue benefit' at taxpayers' expense
http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/14/stories/2011061460380100.htm

CAG rejects RIL claim on inadequate time for response
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/cag-rejects-ril-claim-on-inadequate-time-for-response/article2296200.ece?service=mobile

The indulgence which turned gas into gold
Rajya Sabha MP Tapan Sen wants the “nexus” between the Manmohan Singh government and Reliance Industries Ltd. investigated.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/article2509781.ece

CAG indicts RIL, Oil Ministry and DGH for violations in KG basin
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/article2437626.ece

‘PMO turned blind eye to repeated warnings on Reliance, Cairn'
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2105028.ece

While I thank you for acknowledging The Hindu's lead role in highlighting the Reliance factor in Jaipal Reddy's ouster from the Petroleum Ministry, your statement that such reporting would not have been possible during Mr Ram's tenure as Editor is unfair and -- as the brief list of stories provided above shows -- simply untrue.
 
Siddharth Varadarajan
Editor
The Hindu
859-860 Mount Road
Chennai - 600 002

October 30, 2012

TAGS
N Ram Jaipal Reddy The Hindu
Subscribe To The Newsletter
Media Watch Briefs
Amazon resisting voluntary censorship
The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.                   
Let the games begin

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.                 

View More