Mathrubhumi’s praise of Rahul Gandhi for questioning Modi draws ire of BJP’s Muraleedharan

BJP leader and former Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, announced his decision to boycott the prominent Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, which some view as a right-leaning newspaper, in protest against a front-page report on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s debut speech questioning the Narendra Modi government in Parliament.

The announcement, made on July 3, followed a front-page article in the newspaper's July 2 edition that did not sit well with the BJP stalwart, as he believed it fell short of newspaper ethics due to its unilateral praise of Rahul Gandhi, according to The News Minute.

The article, titled "Nandi Rahul" (Thank you Rahul), featured Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Parliament on July 1. The piece highlighted Gandhi's remarks on the significance of opposition presence in a democracy, portraying him as a strong voice against the ruling party,

Accompanied by an illustrated image of Gandhi with a bow and four arches representing his arguments, the article seemed to have crossed the line for Muraleedharan.

Muraleedharan expressed his dissatisfaction in a written statement, criticizing the newspaper for what he perceived as a breach of media ethics. According to him, the front page should be reserved for unbiased news reporting rather than what appeared to be an editorial in praise of the opposition. He argued that such an approach undermined media excellence by seemingly elevating the opposition while vilifying the BJP-led government.

The BJP leader, who has been a subscriber of Mathrubhumi for five decades, lamented that the newspaper had forgotten the BJP's success and the hard work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which led to the party's third consecutive term in power. He contended that the paper's portrayal of the opposition as heroes and the government as villains was unfair and unbalanced.

The article in question also featured Rahul Gandhi’s sharp criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP. Gandhi accused them of not adhering to true Hindu values, suggesting that they often resorted to violence, hatred, and deceit. His speech, which highlighted the importance of peace and truth in Hinduism, sparked considerable commotion among the ruling alliance MPs.