THE Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) notice against the owners of the blog, https://www.aanavandi.com/blog, demanding the removal of all the contents from the site was met with widespread criticism.
In a letter dated June 27, KSRTC managing director Antony Chacko has alleged that the blog has content “that are hosted with a view to maligning the reputation of KSRTC, creating ill-faith among customers and public and also causing fissures within the organisation”.
The letter also demanded that all contents on the blog to be removed, to refrain from utilising the mark KSRTC and refrain from hosting content derogatory to KSRTC on the site. It said that if the owner of the site does not comply, the KSRTC will take legal action.
Sujith Bhakthan, the owner of the website, said that he does not agree to any of the points raised by the KSRTC MD in his letter. “The blog started as a place to compile news and information about KSRTC and there has never been an intention to malign it. The KSRTC management seems to have had a problem with the blog as we talked about corruption and other problems in the Corporation’s management. Moreover, the KSRTC does not have any right to ask me to take down the content on the blog,” he said. Sujith said he would write back to the MD replying to all the points he made and said that he is prepared for a fight if the KSRTC goes ahead with legal action against him. “I have talked to experts in intellectual property rights and I have not done anything wrong,” he said.
Meanwhile, social media was abuzz with criticism against the KSRTC MD’s letter. Many people tagged their posts with the hashtag #Isupportksrtcblog, #wesupportksrtcblog
News Published by New Indian Express
