Mismanagement likely to cost Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee its channel, too

Thiruvananthapuram: In the lines of Veekshanam, KPCC is also likely to lose its television channel, Jaihind. Due to its mismanagement, Jaihind is already at a loss of Rs 30 crore, and there are lots of cases pending against it for not paying the Provident Fund and TDS of employees. The leadership is groping in the dark on salvaging its mouthpieces. Jaihind was launched in 2007 with a start-up capital of Rs 16 crore.

“It should be recalled that Jaihind and Veekshanam have evolved into loss-making entities after UPA –I and II governments had been in power for a decade at the centre, and the UDF in the state for five years,” said a KPCC general secretary. Prominent NRI politician Vijayan Thomas had invested Rs 22 crore in Jaihind. Recently, he had told DC that he and his family had lost all hopes of recovering it. Similarly, allegations were raised against party president M. M. Hassan for non-payment of dues to lyricist and film director Sreekumaran Thampi to the tune of Rs 27 lakh for producing a serial aired on Jaihind.

But a party source told DC that it was clearing his dues in instalments. A senior Congress MLA blamed top leadership for mismanagement leaving the party workers high and dry. “Congress leadership should take a leaf out of CPM mouthpieces Deshabhimani and Kairali TV. If it is mostly leaders belonging to the ‘A’ group who runs Veekshanam, it is the ‘I’ group that has wrested control of Jaihind. Former KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran had stepped down as president of Jaihind TV on technical grounds in December.