P. Rajeev, MP, is about to move the Election Commission against the alleged use of paid news in the guise of advertorial by the Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Rajeev alleged that the advertorial published by Mr. Thomas’ ministry in a regional daily earlier this month was actually paid news going by the findings of a report the Parliamentary standing committee that dwelt on paid news.
The Parliamentary committee report and the Press Council report counted advertorial as paid news, he said. He said that many of the claims enlisted as his achievements in a booklet published by the minister were outright false. The minister, Mr. Rajeev said, claimed that FACT was allocated a package of Rs. 6,779 crore in December 2012 while it in reality was Rs. 6,779 per metric tonne provided as additional subsidy for higher cost of captive ammonia produced through naptha.
“If at all such a package was granted, Mr. Thomas should clarify where that fund has gone and also why the employees of the public sector unit had to agitate for a new package worth Rs. 991 crore,” Mr. Rajeev said.
While the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizer had denied in the Parliament about any proposal to declare HMT as an independent unit, Mr. Thomas listed it among his achievements, Mr. Rajeev said.
The decision to elevate Ernakulam South railway station into international standard is another claim while nothing has happened as yet on this proposal, which is five years old. Despite the Southern Railway manager publicly stating that there was no proposal for the modernisation of the old railway station, the minister had included even that as his achievement, Mr. Rajeev said.
Mr. Thomas claims that he was instrumental in allotting a stop to Inter-city Express at Tripunithura railway station while the fact is that none of the two Inter-city express trains from the district passes through Tripunithura. The minister has also staked claim to many projects initiated well before his tenure, Mr. Rajeev said.
