Published Sep 26, 2026 | 1:37 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 26, 2026 | 1:37 PM
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan.
Synopsis: Journalists who had gathered to cover the Chief Minister’s programme at Gokulam Park were instructed by Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner Peter KJ not to approach the chief minister with microphones or ask him questions.
In an unusual restriction on media interaction, Kerala police on Saturday, 26 September, barred journalists from asking questions to Chief Minister VD Satheesan during his visit to Kochi, citing his Z-plus security cover.
Journalists who had gathered to cover the Chief Minister’s programme at Gokulam Park were instructed by Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner Peter KJ not to approach the chief minister with microphones or ask him questions.
The ACP reportedly told journalists to maintain distance from the Chief Minister and said that Satheesan was not interested in answering questions.
When journalists sought to know whether there was a specific directive from higher authorities preventing them from questioning the Chief Minister, Peter K.J. replied: “Report whatever you want; I am not going to be hanged, after all.”
The Chief Minister subsequently arrived at Gokulam Park under a police security cordon, with journalists prevented from approaching him for questions.
The incident comes a day after Satheesan avoided questions from journalists after a meeting on land-related issues in Idukki.
As he was leaving, journalists sought his reaction to a controversial issue, reportedly linked to allegations that an unidentified sponsor had funded his chartered flight and also about allegations that he received money from former Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) Managing Director S. Sasidharan Kartha, amid a fresh controversy over Kartha’s alleged diary.
Satheesan told them, “Move aside…I am not meeting you,” and instructed the police to clear the journalists from his path.
The latest incident has added a new dimension to the ongoing friction between the Chief Minister and the media, with journalists being explicitly told in advance not to question the Chief Minister.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
