Mumbai: On July 17, Marathi news channel Lokshahi carried a primetime news item about Kirit Somaiya – BJP’s former MP and the party’s trusted “whistle blower”. The news was based on a purported sex video of the BJP leader. The anchor, and also the channel’s editor-in-chief, Kamlesh Sutar while presenting the content of the highly redacted video asked: “Is Kirit Somaiya being honey trapped?”
The story of Somaiya’s supposed sexual trapping soon snowballed, with leaders from the opposition accusing him of sexual misconduct and extortion, among other things. Somaiya didn’t take the story lying down and soon tried all avenues available and filed complaints with the Mumbai police, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Last week, he also moved a writ petition before the Bombay high court.
While the issue of whether a politician’s sexual life qualifies to be a news story remains contentious, it is the state and the Centre’s swift response to both cover up the matter and teach the news channel “a lesson” that raises some serious questions.
Soon after the video was aired, Somaiya, as “an aggrieved party”, along with six other BJP MLAs and MPs – Mihir Kotecha, Yogesh Sagar, Parag Shah, Ram Kadam, Ashok Nete, Anil Bonde and Ramdas Tadas – complained to the I&B ministry and TRAI. In their complaint, they claiming that the news editor had used “manipulation techniques” to tarnish Somiaya’s public image. The video, their complaints claimed, were “objectionable, misleading and unauthentic”. It no more remained an individual’s fight against the channel; it had become the BJP’s personal fight now.
In the complaint, Somaiya accused Uddhav Thackeray and his party, along with Lokshahi, of “maligning his image”. “The editor Kamlesh Sutar with the background of a small clip tried to create a false image and portray the leader as a “sexual rakhshasa (monster)”, who is using his ED, political connections to exploit dozens of women,” Somaiya’s complaint claimed. In the show, Sutar had mentioned that their sources claim that there are multiple videos running to several hours in circulation.
Kirit Somaiya’s complaint to I&B ministry by The Wire on Scribd
On September 22, the I&B ministry ordered that the channel will be shut down for a period of 72 hours. The order, Sutar says, was communicated merely 45 minutes before it was to come into effect. The channel had to concede. “It was late in the evening and courts had risen for the day. The next day, we moved the Delhi high court and obtained an interim relief.” The shut down was lifted after 24 hours. The channel has since been on air.
I&B ministry’s order on Lokshahi by The Wire on Scribd
But the fight doesn’t end here, Sutar says. “TRAI order is still pending. Also, the Delhi HC order was an interim one and yet to reach its finality.” An FIR against Sutar stands too, although the Mumbai police have claimed that the leaked video is “genuine” and “not a morphed one”.
The Crime Branch of the Mumbai police, however, had raided the Lokshahi office in Mumbai and confiscated the pen drive in which the video was allegedly obtained. “We were also asked to reveal our source for the story. But we plainly refused,” Sutar says.
Sutar, like his organisation, continues to stand by the story. He says it was “never meant to target an individual”. “He (Somaiya) is a public personality, a former MP. He has access to crucial documents and data at any given point in time. The story was about a video that was suspiciously shot from a room in which he was seen engaging in sexual activity. The question that needs to hence be asked is how did the camera end up in his private space and who is behind this nefarious act.”
The Inter Departmental Committee (IDC) of the I&B had observed that “whether the person in question is an ordinary citizen or a political figure, everyone has a private life that deserves respect”. Sutar points to the “double standard” of the ministry. “It is made to appear as if this is the one-of-its-kind video that is ever to be broadcasted on a news channel.” Sutar recalls that in 2017, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti chief Hardik Patel’s purported sex video had suddenly emerged and the I&B ministry didn’t consider it to be a breach of privacy. “Similarly, news channels openly aired BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi’s alleged sex tape without any obstructive orders from the I&B or the court,” Sutar says.
But just because news channels have been airing content of sexual acts, does that justify Lokshahi channel’s decision to put out Somaiya’s video? Sutar says: “We looked at it him as a victim here and if you watch the show, you will see me ask several times if Somaiya was being trapped and was his room intentionally bugged.” Strangely, however, the channel didn’t reach out to Somaiya (who they consider to be a “victim”) before the story was aired. “In such cases,” Sutar claims, “the story gets easily sabotaged.” While it was being aired, according to Sutar, the channel tried to call both Somaiya and his personal assistant, and also sent a reporter to the BJP leader’s office, but did not receive a response.