Media misleading public perception of film industry: Suresh Gopi
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Tuesday lashed out at the media, accusing it of misleading the public's perception about the film industry regarding the recent allegations of sexual harassment against actors and directors.
The actor-politician termed the allegations as "food" for the media and said they were welcome to make money out of it.
The Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism, however, said they should not try to destroy such a huge industry like cinema.
He was responding to reporters' queries over the recent allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against various directors and actors, including CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh.
"This is all food for you, is what I understand. You can use it to make money. (There is) no problem with that. But these issues are before the court, and it has the intelligence and logic to arrive at a decision regarding them.
"You (media) are not only making people fight each other for your own gains, you are also misleading public perception. The complaints are in the form of allegations at the moment. What are you telling people? Are you the court? You are not. The court will decide. Let the court decide," Gopi said.
His response came a day after the Yuva Morcha organised a march towards the residence of Mukesh in Kollam.
The publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry has opened a can of worms with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their various male counterparts.
Amid these allegations, the government announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations made in the wake of the Hema Committee report being published.
Following that more complaints surfaced against various actors and directors.
The report by the Justice Hema Committee, constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case has revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry, prompting calls for action against the guilty.
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Cong hits back at PM Modi, calls him 'master distorian'
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Monday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi "master distorian" after he accused the party of breaking the national song Vande Mataram into pieces, and demanded that he apologise for "insulting" the country's founding fathers, including Rabindranath Tagore.
The party also slammed the prime minister for accusing Jawaharlal Nehru of following appeasement politics.
"The Master Distorian has repeated his insult of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore today in Parliament. The Master Distorian of a PM must render an apology. He has insulted our founding fathers and most of all Tagore himself," AICC general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
ALSO READ: Nation was under Emergency when Vande Mataram completed 100 years: PM Modi in LS
Sharing pages of the biography of Tagore, Ramesh said, "Here are pages 110-112 from vol 4 of the authoritative biography in Bengali of Rabindranath Tagore titled Rabindra-Jeebanee by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, published by Visva-Bharati in 1994."
"Nehru is being accused of appeasement. But will the PM--the Master Distorian-- answer: 1. Which Indian leader formed a coalition in Bengal in the early 1940s with the person who moved the Pakistan resolution in Lahore in March 1940? It was Syama Prasad Mookerjee. 2. Which Indian leader applauded Jinnah in Karachi in June 2005? It was LK Advani. 3. Which Indian leader praised Jinnah in his book 2009? It was Jaswant Singh," Ramesh said in another post.
He was reacting to Prime Minister Modi's remarks that the Constitution was "throttled" and the nation chained by the Emergency when national song Vande Mataram completed 100 years.
Initiating a day-long discussion on 150 years of Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, Modi noted that Vande Mataram stood like a rock and inspired unity despite British oppression.
Modi cited a letter written by Nehru to Subhash Chandra Bose claiming that the background of Vande Mataram could antagonise Muslims.
He said the letter was written following a protest by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Lucknow.
ALSO READ: In a first, Meitei MLA visits Kuki relief camp in Manipur
Quoting the letter, Modi said, Nehru had written that he had read the background of the song and it could spark anger amongst Muslims.
Modi said later Congress convened a session in "Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Bengal" to review the use of Vande Mataram.
"But, on October 26, Congress compromised on Vande Mataram. They broke it into pieces under the mask of social harmony, but history is witness ..This was Congress' attempt at politics of appeasement. Under pressure of politics of appeasement, Congress agreed to divide Vande Mataram.. this is the reason Congress also bowed to the demand for partition..," Modi alleged.
The prime minister said history is a testament to the fact that Congress knelt before the Muslim League and did this under pressure.
"This is an instance of the politics of appeasement of the Congress. Because it bowed to the division of Vande Mataram, it bowed to the division of India later on.
"Congress has maintained the same politics of appeasement even today," he asserted amid thumping of desks by treasury benches.
The Master Distorian has repeated his insult of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore today in Parliament. https://t.co/SQyDX1MLPx
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 8, 2025
