NEW DELHI -- She was the first woman to be named editor-in-chief of The Hindu newspaper. But even before she completed a year in the job, Malini Parthasarathy has resigned, owing to differences with the company board over spends at a newly-launched edition in Mumbai, a person familiar with the developments said.
Parthasarathy confirmed to HuffPost India that she has resigned, but declined to comment further.
Her resignation was abrupt and followed in the wake of a stormy board meeting where the expenditure relating to the launch of the Mumbai edition was discussed, the person said. Parthasarathy was angered by what she perceived as questioning by the board about the expenditure incurred, the person said.
The board of Kasturi and Sons Ltd. (KSL), publishers of The Hindu, appointed Parthasarathy as editor-in-chief of the daily at its meeting on January 20, 2015. She took charge on February 1, 2015.
The Hindu launched an edition in Mumbai in December, with Sachin Kalbag as the resident editor.
Parthasarathy is a member of the shareholder family of Kasturi And Sons. When she became editor, the paper reinstated a long tradition of family members calling the shots in the newsroom. The paper had departed from this tradition when it named Siddharth Varadarajan as editor in 2011. He was removed in 2013 and Parthasarathy was named editor.
Parthasarathy, who has worked at The Hindu in varying capacities for years, has made a number of senior editorial hires in recent months to bolster the paper's editorial capabilities. The tumultuous months following Varadarajan's departure also saw the exit of well-known journalists such as rural affairs editor P. Sainath and national security specialist Praveen Swami. Editorial pages editor Rahul Pandita also had a public and acrimonious departure, alleging micro-management by the editor-in-chief.
The NewsMinute reported that Suresh Nambath, national editor at The Hindu, will be the interim editor of the newspaper.
Ram put out this statement on the paper's website on Tuesday.
Malini Parthasarathy has resigned as Editor of The Hindu with immediate effect.
Suresh Nambath, National Editor, The Hindu, has been entrusted with the responsibility of managing the news and editorial operations of The Hindu until a new Editor is appointed.
The KSL Board has placed on record its appreciation of the contribution of Malini Parthasarathy as Editor of The Hindu. She will continue as a Wholetime Director of Kasturi & Sons Ltd.
N. Ram
Chairman of Kasturi & Sons Limited & Publisher of The Hindu
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