E-mail hacking: CM lashes out at media

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming down heavily on the media for sensationalising the alleged hacking of the e-mails of  journalists and politicians belonging to a particular community,  Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he was deeply hurt over the playing up of the issue by the media.
During his regular cabinet briefing on Wednesday, he said everybody had the right to criticise for valid reasons as he is the Chief Minister of the state. “I have been  providing enough chances for the media to criticise my deeds in my capacity as the Chief Minister. Whatever be the criticism against me, I am bound to bear with it. But it is unfortunate for the media to play up a non-issue,’’ he said.
He said what has been done by the Police Department was a regular  check  with regard to the safety and security of the state. He said it was when the police noted that one person who is under the surveillance of the police contacted through e-mail 258 people they tried to examine the details and address of the e-mail addressees. But when the weekly publication published the list of those whose mail address were examined, some of the names were left blank and in some cases they provided only the e-mail address.

 He pointed out that the 12th, 26th and 48th names in the list were blank.  Only 63 in the list had both names and e-mail addressees.  In place of the 26th name in the list, the e-mail address of the 157th person has been given. In place of 48th name,  the e-mail address of the 156th person has been given.  He said the weekly has left the name blank as they were non-Muslims. He said that none of the e-mails of the 258 persons were hacked. Only their login were asked for. He said that the weekly had omitted the names for its convenience and claimed that it was only Muslim journalists and politicians whose e-mails were hacked.
Unleashing a scathing attack on Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, Chandy said that the Opposition leader had used the incident  to communalise the issue.
“The opposition leader even had filled the blank space with names of Muslim community members,’’ Chandy alleged. He termed the acts of the weekly and Opposition leader as heinous. Chandy asked the media not demoralise the investigation agencies. He said government had no doubt about any of the persons who figured in the list.
Meanwhile, the State Government has directed the Director-General of Police to charge a case against a vernacular weekly for “attempts to hamper communal harmony”.  The list published by the weekly was tampered with and some names were avoided to create confusion, government sources said.