My Channel Rules

Dalit party VCK feels a TV channel is essential to spread its message

Asks members to donate a gold sovereign each on party chief’s 50th birthday

Gold to be collateral for Rs 20 cr plus channel corpus

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I n a state where nearly every home has a television, can a political party flourish without a channel of its own? Unlikely, it seems, if a recent call by Tamil Nadu’s Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a Dalit political party, is anything to go by. The party has asked supporters to donate gold on the occasion of its chief’s 50th birthday on August 17 to help fund the planned TV channel. “Without arms, you can’t fight a battle, and without your own media you can’t survive in politics,” Thol. Thirumavalavan, MP and chief of the VCK, sagely tells Outlook. The gold collected will be used as collateral for a bank loan to start the channel.

In Tamil Nadu,...