On Tuesday, 2 April, a Times of India report said that Election Commission officials had stayed the release of a Tamil book titled Nattai Ulukkum Rafael; Bera Oozhal ( ‘Rafale: The Scam That Rocked the Nation’) written by S Vijayan, slated to be released on Tuesday. EC officials and policemen also seized copies of the book from the office of the publisher, the daily reported.
However, later on the same day, Satyabrata Sahoo, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tamil Nadu, said neither the Election Commission nor the CEO's office had "issued any instructions in this regard".
"I have directed DEO [District Election Officer), Chennai, to look into this matter and give a report immediately," Sahoo said, to The Times of India. The book release has now been allowed to go ahead as planned.
‘Violates Rules of EC’
The publisher of the book, Bharati Pusthakalayam had said earlier on Tuesday that a squad of policemen and officials came and seized 142 copies of the book from their office, when they tried to hold the book release event, according to reports.
The book was to be released in Chennai, by the chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications, N Ram, who himself has written extensively on the Rafale deal, reported India Today.
According to The Times of India, officials said the release of the book, which contains some sensitive information about the Rafale deal, “violates rules of the EC”.
Copies of the book were also seized from local book stores, reported The Hindu.
Police officials seized copies of the book.
(Photo Courtesy: Riz Qureshi/Facebook)
The editor of the publishing house, PK Ranjan, had told The Times of India that he could not release the book because “it was a political one”.
“They said I haven’t got a prior permission to release the book. It’s surprising as book releases are taking place every other day in the city. And I don’t know why they targeted us,” he said.
“It’s against the democracy and law to have seized the publication of the book. It is a move against the freedom of speech and expression,” N Ram said, speaking to Puthiyathalaimurai TV, a local news channel.
Twitter Condemns EC Action
People reacted to the news of the book release being stayed, questioning the decision and asking how a movie on Modi was acceptable, but not a book on Rafale.
Some others questioned how the book violated the Model Code of Conduct.
(With inputs from The Hindu, The Times of India and India Today.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)