New Delhi: There was more condemnation of Union minister Smriti Irani’s behaviour towards a reporter in Amethi, with the DIGIPUB Foundation on Tuesday, June 13, calling her attitude “indefensible” and the Editor’s Guild of India (EGI) saying her “threats” impinge directly on press freedom.
The EGI also criticised the CPI(M) government in Kerala for registering a first information report (FIR) against a journalist, saying it “is a matter of deep concern that mere reportage on political leaders can invite an FIR and questioning by the police”. It asked the Kerala government to withdraw the case against the journalist with immediate effect.
‘Contempt for journalistic freedom’
DIGIPUB, a platform that represents digital news media organisations, said it condemned Irani’s “castigation of reporter” Vipin Yadav in Amethi. Yadav had asked the Union 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.
“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.”
“Not only was Ms Irani’s attitude to the reporter indefensible, her words, ‘I will call your newspaper’, are proof of the Indian government’s contempt for journalistic freedom, demonstrably mitigated in the past few years,” DIGIPUB said.
The incident shows the “dismal condition of stringers and reporters” working in India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the statement added, saying they “are often unpaid and treated like throwaways by the media outlets they provide coverage”.
“It also exposes the ease with which legacy media institutions show deference to those in authority,” DIGIPUB, of which The Wire is a member, said.
“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 adds.
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.
Guild condemns FIR against Malayalam journalist
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.
Akhila Nandakumar. Photo: South First
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 is against democratic principles. Further, 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,” the EGI statement added.