<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) on Thursday criticised SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan for describing a TV reporter as an extremist, days after an altercation at an event in Sivagiri.</p><p>The union issued a statement after Natesan, at a press conference in Alappuzha on Friday, termed the journalist an extremist and a spokesperson for Muslims. He also claimed the reporter was an MSF leader and said he had prior information about him.</p><p>The controversy began on Wednesday when a journalist questioned Natesan over his comments on Malappuram district. Television visuals showed Natesan reacting angrily, pushing aside the reporter’s microphone and asking him to move away.</p><p>Defending his conduct, Natesan said the journalist had spoken to him disrespectfully and justified his reaction at Sivagiri. He also expressed annoyance over repeated questioning, asking reporters not to provoke him further.</p>.BRS boycotts Telangana Assembly winter session, alleges Speaker bias.<p>Reacting strongly, the KUWJ said branding a journalist as an extremist and attempting to silence questions was “unacceptable” in a democratic society. It stressed that journalists raise questions on behalf of the public and that those holding responsible positions must exercise restraint while engaging with the media.</p><p>“The assumption that the media should listen silently and leave without asking questions is against democratic values,” the union said in its statement, signed by state president K P Reji and general secretary Suresh Edappal.</p><p>The union warned that repeated conduct of this nature could harm Kerala’s social atmosphere and press freedom, and urged leaders close to Natesan and the SNDP Yogam leadership to intervene to prevent similar incidents in the future.</p><p>During the same press conference, Natesan also clarified his earlier remarks on the absence of SNDP Yogam educational institutions in Malappuram, Wayanad and Kasaragod districts. He said the organisation has only one unaided college in Malappuram, while alleging that the Muslim League runs several aided colleges there, questioning the implementation of social justice in the education sector and warning against narratives that could affect communal harmony.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) on Thursday criticised SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan for describing a TV reporter as an extremist, days after an altercation at an event in Sivagiri.</p><p>The union issued a statement after Natesan, at a press conference in Alappuzha on Friday, termed the journalist an extremist and a spokesperson for Muslims. He also claimed the reporter was an MSF leader and said he had prior information about him.</p><p>The controversy began on Wednesday when a journalist questioned Natesan over his comments on Malappuram district. Television visuals showed Natesan reacting angrily, pushing aside the reporter’s microphone and asking him to move away.</p><p>Defending his conduct, Natesan said the journalist had spoken to him disrespectfully and justified his reaction at Sivagiri. He also expressed annoyance over repeated questioning, asking reporters not to provoke him further.</p>.BRS boycotts Telangana Assembly winter session, alleges Speaker bias.<p>Reacting strongly, the KUWJ said branding a journalist as an extremist and attempting to silence questions was “unacceptable” in a democratic society. It stressed that journalists raise questions on behalf of the public and that those holding responsible positions must exercise restraint while engaging with the media.</p><p>“The assumption that the media should listen silently and leave without asking questions is against democratic values,” the union said in its statement, signed by state president K P Reji and general secretary Suresh Edappal.</p><p>The union warned that repeated conduct of this nature could harm Kerala’s social atmosphere and press freedom, and urged leaders close to Natesan and the SNDP Yogam leadership to intervene to prevent similar incidents in the future.</p><p>During the same press conference, Natesan also clarified his earlier remarks on the absence of SNDP Yogam educational institutions in Malappuram, Wayanad and Kasaragod districts. He said the organisation has only one unaided college in Malappuram, while alleging that the Muslim League runs several aided colleges there, questioning the implementation of social justice in the education sector and warning against narratives that could affect communal harmony.</p>