Photo credit: X
NEW DELHI: Subscribers of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) official mouthpiece in Kerala got an unexpected New Year’s surprise when they opened their newspaper on January 1.In an embarrassing mix-up, Janmabhumi carried the editorial page of Chandrika, the daily run by the Indian Union Muslim League, in its Kannur–Kasaragod regional edition, while all other pages of the newspaper remained unchanged.The error came to public attention after IUML state president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal received a call from a party worker in Kannur informing him that his article had appeared in Janmabhumi. Thangal initially brushed it off as a prank but later confirmed that the pro-BJP daily had indeed published his piece.Alongside Thangal’s article, contributions by IUML leader MK Muneer were also printed on the editorial page. The page further carried an editorial titled ‘A left front in cumbles’. The mix-up was limited strictly to the editorial page, with the rest of the newspaper reflecting Janmabhumi’s regular content.According to sources cited by local media, the incident occurred due to a technical lapse at the printing stage. Both Janmabhumi and Chandrika are reportedly printed at the same press, and the error affected only the Kannur and Kasaragod editions. The unusual crossover quickly became a subject of discussion on social media, largely evoking amusement rather than outrage, given the stark ideological divide between the BJP and the IUML.”While accusations of an unholy alliance between the UDF and BJP continue to swirl, the RSS mouthpiece Janmabhoomi has reproduced the editorial content originally published in Chandrika, the official newspaper of the IUML!” John Brittas, CPM MP, wrote on X.
John Brittas on X
Kerala chief minister’s press secretary PM Manoj joined the online commentary with a Facebook post, noting that mistakes were bound to happen when two newspapers were printed from the same press. He added, however, that it was “surprising” that even a careful reading of the Chandrika editorial page published in Janmabhumi did not reveal “a single line” touching upon BJP politics.The incident has since been widely shared as a rare and ironic moment in Kerala’s otherwise sharply polarised media and political landscape.”The editorial page of a newspaper reflects the views of that paper and of the political party that controls or influences it. What is striking here is that even though Chandrika’s editorial page appeared in Janmabhoomi, there is not a single line in that editorial which even remotely questions or critiques BJP politics. That leads to an obvious inference: Chandrika’s editorial line is something the BJP can fully accept without discomfort. Isn’t this what people mean when they talk about an underlying convergence or a shared current beneath the surface?” Manoj wrote on Facebook.
