The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on June 13 expressed concern over recent incidents of “intimidation” and “harassment” of journalists by Union Minister Smriti Irani and the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala.
The guild said that on June 9, Ms. Irani during a visit to her constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh had threatened a reporter with the Dainik Bhaskar that she would complain to his owners, while on June 10, the CPI(M) Government in Kerala had filed an FIR against a reporter with Asianet news for carrying a story against a Student Federation of India (SFI) leader.
‘Trigger-happy approach’
“This trigger-happy approach to browbeat and harass reporters and news camera persons undermines the freedom of the press”, the EGI said in a statement.
On the Amethi incident, it said: “The Minister’s threat to call newspaper owners and couch journalistic questioning as an affront to the people was a clear intimidatory tactic”.
While the Dainik Bhaskar had subsequently claimed that the journalist was not associated with it, another journalist associated with the media house, who was at the spot as well, had been relieved of his duties, the statement noted. Urging the Dainik Bhaskar to reinstate the journalist, the editors’ body said it was “deeply disturbed by the intimidatory conduct of the Union Minister”.
The second incident was of a senior woman journalist in Kerala who was named as an accused in a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the State police in response to a complaint filed by the SFI, the student arm of the ruling CPI(M) party.
Following a report filed by the journalist, an employee of Asianet News, a leader of the SFI accused her of being part of a ‘conspiracy’ to defame him and filed a case against her, along with a few others. The Kerala police included her name in the FIR and has subsequently interrogated her.
“It is a matter of deep concern that mere reportage on political leaders can invite an FIR and questioning by the police. The guild urges the CPI(M) Government in Kerala to withdraw the case against the journalist with immediate effect”.
Asserting that the reporters were on the ground to ask questions, and threats of action by political leaders and State law enforcement agencies were against democratic principles, the EGI further said that “media houses have the fundamental duty of protecting the journalists working with them, reporters and stringers alike, and should not cow down to any kind of political browbeating”.
