INDIA alliance has released a list of 14 such TV news anchors, in whose programs none of the parties included in the opposition alliance will send their leaders or spokespersons. As soon as this list came out, mixed reactions were being seen.
INDIA गठबंधन ने ‘नफरती एंकरों’ के कार्यक्रमों का किया बहिष्कार, नहीं होंगे प्रोग्राम में शामिल – देखें लिस्ट…
Recalling how the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have boycotted journalists like Karan Thapar and Ravish Kumar in the past, a leader of the opposition alliance claimed that the decision to boycott the programs of 14 anchors of various news channels was taken with a heavy heart. Had to take it from. He reminded how NDTV and news websites Newsclick and The Quint, owned by Prannoy Roy, were harassed by the current government. He said that boycott of news anchors is neither new nor unique. But when the water level became above the head, this step had to be taken.
Along with this decision, the list of anchors was shared by Pawan Kheda, head of Media and Publicity Department of Congress.
The list of anchors whose boycott has been announced is as follows:
- Aditi Tyagi – Bharat Express
- Aman Chopra – News 18 India
- Amish Devgan – News 18 India
- Anand Narasimhan – CNN-News 18
- Arnab Goswami – Republic
- Ashok Srivastava – Doordarshan News
- Chitra Tripathi – Aaj Tak
- Gaurav Sawant – India Today TV
- Navika Kumar – Times Now
- Prachi Parashar – India TV
- Rubika Liaquat – India 24
- Shiv Aroor – India Today TV
- Sudhir Chaudhary – Aaj Tak
- Sushant Sinha – Times Now Navbharat
Pawan Kheda also shared a short video of this decision on social media. He said in the video that “Every day from 5 pm, a market of hatred is organized on some channels. This has been going on continuously for the last nine years. Leaders of different parties go to that market, some experts go, some analysts go, but we all go to that market of hatred as customers. We had to take a step towards a hate-free India. Today a decision was taken that some anchors should be identified and we should not attend their shows and events, so that a strong step can be taken. If we do not want to be a part of this market of hatred that is corrupting our society. We have been fighting against your unruly comments, fake news etc. against our leaders and will continue to fight but will not allow hatred to spread in the society. The decision was taken with a heavy heart. We do not hate any of these, we love India, that is why we have decided to close the shop of hatred.”
A leader of India Alliance, on the condition of anonymity, said that ultimately they had to make a list of such anchors who ‘spread hatred, show fake news and spread the virus of communalism in the society.’ All the examples are public.
However, Pawan Kheda in his video expressed hope that these anchors will change themselves and times will change. In a way, he indicated that when the time comes, this list can be reviewed and changed.
And, as expected, the BJP has sharply criticized the decision. BJP President JP Nadda targeted the entire opposition and especially the Congress. He said that this is an attempt to silence the media.
But the opposition also immediately responded to the BJP’s reaction. The opposition put forward many such examples when these anchors showed irresponsible attitude.
Apart from this, it was also reminded of the recent incident of how NDTV’s Mumbai Bureau Chief was allegedly asked by the Adani-owned channel to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s press conference. Disobeying this order, Bureau Chief Sohit Mishra had resigned.
Just two days ago, Congress social media incharge Supriya Shrinet had answered a journalist’s question as to which journalists she calls phase magnets. To this Supriya had replied that those journalists who do not have the courage to ask true questions are phase magnets, whereas there are many journalists who are with the truth, and she respects them.
In recent years, relations between news anchors and leaders or spokespersons of opposition parties have soured considerably. The opposition has been continuously raising the issue that news channels deliberately debate on such topics which are decided by the government side or government PR professionals. In these debates, such people are included as analysts who actually take the side of the government and work to suppress the voice of the opposition.
However, not everyone is happy with this decision of the opposition. Senior journalist Suhasini Haider has written that “It is sad that the opposition is wasting time in grading news anchors. What is needed is transparency and media access to those in power.”
Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of Fact Checker and Alt News, shared screen shots of some such debates and explained why it was necessary to boycott these anchors.
Similarly, Pankaj Pachauri, who was media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has also reacted. He said, “It is a sad day for the media. This is the failure of media owners who entered this business knowing that trust is their biggest asset.
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