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More trouble for Tehelka

A STRING OF `coincidences' assumes the form of a deliberate pattern. The reasons for believing that a vindictive Government is getting its own back at Tehelka — the website which exposed those in power with its spycam-aided investigation dubbed Operation Westend — are becoming virtually indubitable. The news portal has faced a suspicious succession of problems ever since it went public with secretly filmed videotapes which, among other things, showed the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, gratefully accepting a wad of notes from a journalist posing as an arms dealer. Tehelka's latest predicament is a case filed against a senior journalist of the website, Aniruddha Bahal, who has been charged with assaulting and threatening an official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A couple of facts are pertinent here. One, Mr. Bahal was the person who coordinated Operation Westend, which saw the (albeit temporary) exit of the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, resulted in the axing of Mr. Laxman and embarrassed the Vajpayee Government no end. And two, Mr. Bahal was arrested on a complaint from the CBI, which is already investigating two other cases in which Tehelka or those working for it are accused. Read along with the other kinds of trouble that Tehelka has found itself in, they give rise to grave suspicions about vendetta and intimidation.

It was only a couple of months ago that the CBI raided Tehelka's premises in connection with an expose it was planning over the poaching of wild animals. A case was registered under the Wildlife Act and one of the website's reporters was arrested and remanded. Earlier, a story run by the website which relied on sensitive Government documents resulted in a case being filed against it under the Official Secrets Act. This is not all. An investment banker who bought a minority stake in the news portal was arrested and subjected to a slew of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate raids. Tehelka had claimed then that this was a ploy to put a financial squeeze on the website. In other words, to send a signal to other possible investors that putting money into Tehelka could entail unforeseen and damaging consequences. The website, which has received no additional funds since then, is in serious financial trouble now.

While the Government has been quick to rubbish Tehelka and its use of controversial and ethically debatable techniques to conduct its investigation, it has shown a shocking lack of concern for the corruption and the venality exposed by Operation Westend. Rather than seriously address what was uncovered, it has scrambled to look for conspiracies behind the investigation ("ISI-sponsored" etc). It set up a Commission of Inquiry but reinstated Mr. Fernandes as Defence Minister even as it was beginning to conduct the probe. Even Mr. Laxman didn't end up too badly, having been partially rehabilitated with the chairmanship of a parliamentary committee.

At the same time, the fact that Tehelka continues to have problems, which the Government explains as routine and unconnected administrative action, has raised questions about persecution and harassment and, more generally, about the Government's commitment to the freedom of the press. Two months ago, a correspondent of Time magazine, Alex Perry, was suddenly summoned to explain some facts in connection with his passport soon after he had published a very unflattering piece about the Prime Minister. Using the official machinery to browbeat journalists is unacceptable in a democracy and if the Government thinks it is an effective way of either silencing or compromising them, it is sadly mistaken. Criticism of the Government is hardly likely to diminish by placing a website into difficulty here or harassing the correspondent of a publication there. The Vajpayee Government would do well to focus on governance rather than blame the ills of the nation on journalists or the bad press it receives.

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