Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the mystery deepens over the intervention of a PR agency in the interview given by the Chief Minister to a newspaper, TD Subrahmanyan, who was allegedly present at the time of the interview, has refused to offer any clarification.
Responding to Manorama, Subrahmanyan said he did not want to respond to the controversy for the time being but assured that he would clarify his stance later. When asked directly whether he was the person accompanying the Chief Minister during the interview, he replied, "The media is reporting so much without even asking me anything. Let more clarity emerge."
Read More: PR representative in CM's controversial interview is former SFI leader and son of CPM veteran.
"If I respond at this point, it will be too premature. But I will say what I need to say," he added in response to why people should avoid speculation if he provided a clear answer.
Meanwhile, neither the CPM nor the government has dismissed the claim regarding the PR agency's involvement. Although the Chief Minister or his office has not responded officially, their lack of denial effectively suggests an acknowledgment of the agency's role.
Instead, the party is now raising a question of what is wrong with the Chief Minister seeking the help of a PR agency. A statement by party politburo member A Vijayaraghavan, asserting that PR agencies are not engaged in any anti-national activities and can be used based on situations, supports this stance.
Apart from Minister PA Muhammed Riyas’s comment, "Do you think the Chief Minister needs the help of a PR agency for giving an interview?" no other ministers or party leaders have made any explanations on the issue. Even the CPM’s social media profiles have remained silent.
According to the information available, the person who accompanied the Chief Minister during The Hindu interview was TD Subrahmanyan, a Reliance official. Subrahmanyan, son of former Haripad MLA and Coirfed chairman TD Devakumar, had previously worked with the election strategist Prashant Kishore.
It has been a usual practice for both the Chief Minister and his government to respond swiftly whenever any unsubstantiated allegations start circulating in society. However, their deviation from this pattern with respect to the controversial interview and allegations on the PR agency's involvement raises suspicion.
Ten questions to CM’s office
Despite the ongoing controversy, the Chief Minister’s office has only responded by saying that a formal reply will be issued soon, sidestepping the issue. In this context, the office needs to clarify several key questions:
1. Are interviews given by the Chief Minister to national and international media facilitated through PR agencies?
2. Since the Chief Minister’s office has a press secretary and a PRD team, why was an external agency approached?
3. How many such agencies have been engaged by this government so far?
4. What fees were paid to each of these agencies, and from which fund were these expenses met?
5. Who was responsible for engaging Kaizzen PR to arrange the interview?
6. Does the government have a formal contract with Kaizzen PR?
7. Who within the government and party has links with this agency?
8. Did the Chief Minister was accompanied by agency representatives while giving the interview?
9. Who instructed the agency to include the controversial statement regarding Malappuram in the interview?
10. Why was there a delay, despite a day-long controversy, in clarifying that the statement was not made by the Chief Minister?
