People's Democracy

 Hindustan Times’ Lies Nailed

Senior Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M), and former chief minister of Bengal, Jyoti Basu has issued the following statement on November 6, nailing the lies carried by in the Kolkata edition of the Hindustan Times (of November 6) where the HT correspondent in the name of ‘news’ engaged in atrocious lying.

I WAS shocked beyond measure to read the write-up in the Hindustan Times what the correspondent purported to be an interview with me on the telephone.  Most parts of the interview are his views not mine. I said that the government after investigation has decided to take action and that there has to be some restriction with regard to the activity of the media inside the hospital.  I said that an ugly incident did not happen just because the minister–in-charge was not in Kolkata. A few such incidents did take place when I was the chief minister. That the minister was out of Kolkata has nothing to do with the ugly incident. I also said that the incidents had nothing to do with the fact that the minister–in –charge is looking after two departments.

Both the atrocious headlines and parts of the write-up are the HT correspondent’s views and not mine. By now, I am quite used to such atrocious distortions of views twisting them to carry connotations against the Left Front government over the past 26 years and more.  I hope the newspaper will publish the statement of mine.  Towards the end of my interview, I did say that the Left Front government does want the co-operation of the media.