There Indian Minister for Women, Child Development and Minority Affairs Smriti Irani’s behaviour towards a reporter in the Amethi city of Uttar Pradesh evokes more condemnation, with the DIGIPUB Foundation, calling her attitude “indefensible” and the Editor’s Guild of India (EGI) saying her “threats” impinge directly on press freedom.
The journalist Vipin Yadav had asked the Indian minister for a byte on June 9 when she was in Amerthi, to which she responded that “trying to force her to speak” amounts to insulting the people of her constituency. Subsequently, the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper dissociated itself from the journalist and fired a stringer, Rashid Hussain.
DIGIPUB, a platform that represents digital news media organisations, said it condemned Irani’s “castigation of reporter” Vipin Yadav in Amethi. “A video showed Ms Irani admonishing Mr Yadav after he asked her a few times to give a quote to the reporters waiting to hear from her for a long time. The minister said she would take the matter up with the owners of the Dainik Bhaskar,” DIGIPUB said in a statement.
“We condemn the intimidation by a union minister of a journalist, the capitulation of a large media organisation, and the callous disregard for the life-changing consequences of their actions,” the statement added.
The EGI said it condemns the “trigger happy approach to browbeat and harass reporters and news camera persons to undermine the freedom of the press”. “The Guild is deeply disturbed by the intimidatory conduct of the Union Minister and would like to remind Ms Irani that threats to journalists impinge directly on press freedom. The Guild also reiterates that it is important for media houses not to succumb to political pressure and urges Dainik Bhaskar to reinstate the journalist,” it said in a statement.
The EGI also criticised the FIR against a senior woman journalist in Kerala, registered on June 10. The woman was named as an accused in an FIR lodged by the state police in response to a complaint filed by the Student Federation of India (SFI), the student arm of the ruling CPI-M party. Akhila Nandakumar had reported certain allegations against SFI leader P.M. Arsho. The SFI leader accused her of being part of a ‘conspiracy’ to defame him and filed a case against her, along with a few others.
The EGI statement said that it is a “matter of deep concern that mere reportage on political leaders can invite an FIR and questioning by the police” and urged the Kerala government to withdraw the case with immediate effect.
“EGI once again underlines its repeated requests to all political parties to desist from harassing and intimidating working journalists and media houses. The reporters are on the ground to ask questions and threats of action by political leaders and state law enforcement agencies are against democratic principles,” the EGI statement added.
