It was claimed as a "Crusading journalism" ... but all crusades were against the BJP and the NDA Government of Vajpayee.
Moreover; it has tendered apology numerous times. Tarun Tejpal and his associates were actually part of a cliche promoted by one 'former' Congress leader and an eminent lawyer.
The lawyer is still eminent and is still busy promising funds to push anti-BJP and anti-NDA programmes. But the so-called self-style Sickuarism-inspired 'crusader' has fallen. Fallen from the Grace is a small phrase.
Tejpal now claims - VICTIM CARD and ridiculously compares himself with two jailed 'student protesters'; -- who face much serious charges.
The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday (Aug 6) convicted Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 rape case, setting aside the 2021 judgment of the Goa trial court that had acquitted him.
The case dates back to November 2013, when a Tehelka employee accused Tejpal of raping her in the elevator of a Goa resort during the magazine's annual Thinkfest event.
Take a pause.
On November 27, 2013 BJP’s Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (now deceased) set the cat among the pigeons by tweeting that a Union minister, who was a "patron" of Tehelka, was "shielding" Tejpal.
The then Law Minister (under Manmohan Singh Govt) Kapil Sibal hit back, daring Sushma Swaraj to name him instead of referring to him "tangentially".
Sibal denied that he owns shares in Tehelka but said he "donated" Rs 5 lakh to them in 2003.
Ting Tong. Sickularism has a great fall.
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| 'Shameless' - a Bus that never admits its Failure and never Falls ? |
Look how things ran under left-liberal UPA-2 - which had also abandoned the Left parties.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy released a June 25, 2004 letter by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, (in 2013) which said:
"I have received your letter of June 18, 2004 enclosing a representation from Tarun Tejpal, editor of Tehelka, regarding investigation pending against them.
I am asking the concerned ministries to examine the cases and review their status and proposed course of action."
UPA had come to power less than a month before Sonia’s alleged intervention. And what had the Crusader (and now disgraced) editor written - ?? ... Let us forget.
Take a look back at what Tejpal had written in 1997 hailing Priyanka Gandhi and a celebrity-starved nation, that is Bharat.
And that was crusading journalism, na ? Sickularism ??
"In 1997, after a controversy had broken out on the allotment of a government bungalow to Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra, Tejpal had written in a diary piece in Outlook:
"She (Priyanka) is a very handsome woman who’s managed to maintain a dignified low profile even though she’s at the age when callow young hormones are routinely running amok. For another, even residual Jawahar and Indira genes make her a formidable political prospect, especially in a charisma-starved nation."
(India Today)
For the much talked about Tehelka 'defence scam' -- Tarun Tejpal applied all 'bad' and unethical means to frame his video series.
It did the 'damage' and George Fernandes had to resign as the Defence Minister. Jaya Jaitley was maligned.
Yet again, Sickularism was silent. Take another pause, you will need it.
Even firangi media BBC reported: "critics (of Tehelka) accused it of practicing agenda-driven journalism and siding with the Congress party ..... Others said Tehelka's journalism, at its worst, smacked of preachy pamphleteering and accused it of openly taking sides.
No need to guess on this. His friends included Arundhati Roy.
In 1995 - Arundhati Roy was searching for a publisher (this itself maybe a fiction) for her debut novel.
"Tejpal teamed up with photographer Sanjeev Saith to launch the publishing house India Ink that published the Booker-winning The God of Small Things. Everything he touched was turning into gold". (India Today - December 9, 2013).
Did Arundhati write any fiction after that ? This 'booker' prize winning author then became a symbol of anti-Narmada movement.
Now at personal level, Arundhati visited PTI office during the peak of agitation.
I and my senior colleague Asha Ramchandran (who covered environment extensively) were assigned the role of interviewing her and running a story. She could not convince us - why she had started behaving more like an activist and less of a writer.
She was accompanied by a 'firangi activist and - the gentleman kept prompting her repeatedly. "How would you like to be remembered .. a writer or an activist" - I asked the question.
Her response was guided by a corporate style reaction. "I do not want to be remembered".
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| Tejpal's dress-and-beard - like a struggling blogger - was another drama !! |
The coincidence of Tejpal becoming a publisher and Arundhati winning a prestgious international prize is like CJP's Twitter account and the Instagram journey. So natural ? (sic)
For the 'big' Tehelka story -- Tarun Tejpal and his colleague Aniruddha Pal were in 2024 asked by Delhi High Court to cough out Rs 10 lakh for defaming a senior military officer, Maj Gen M S Ahlualia and also publish an apology as newspaper ad.
The copy of the apology is first snap. And in that apology 'crusading journalists' wrote -- "... we unconditionally apologise for the error in the script".
Sample this as well ---
BBC wrote on Nov 30, 2013:
"... others like former Tehelka journalist Manjula Narayan believe that many staff left the magazine because they were unhappy with the way it was working.
"Some are disillusioned by the disconnect between the stories featured and those who fund the magazine, others by the cultish aura of the place, still others by the lofty talk of saving the poor while courting the rich," she wrote in the Hindustan Times. (BBC)
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| "poor man's" Rich editor and Kapil Sibal's friend |
There were multiple scams during UPA-2. Tejpal did not waste time an anyone.
Let's move on ... This is yet another interesting para from 'India Today' - 2013 article.
"Tejpal’s statement, as one-time friend Arundhati Roy pointed out, implies that the journalist he had chosen to hire is now "not just a loose woman but an agent of fascists".
His anticipatory bail plea order was reserved till November 29 but Tejpal withdrew the application a day before. Goa Police, which has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports, summoned him to appear at the Dona Paula police station on November 28, while the state’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, closely monitoring the investigation".
Ding Dong bell.... this time .. a crusading editor in the well.
ends
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