New Delhi: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) strongly condemned Monday the registration of FIRs against senior editors and journalists over the coverage of the farmers’ protest and the ensuing violence on Republic Day here. The NBA demanded that the FIRs be quashed.
Six journalists – Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath – along with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, have been booked by police. They have been booked in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, over their alleged ‘misleading’ tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally.
In a statement, the said it is of the opinion that both the print and electronic media have been covering the farmers’ protests on the outskirts of Delhi in a fair, balanced and objective manner.
“The NBA strongly condemns the registration of FIRs against senior editors and journalists over the coverage of the farmers’ protest and the ensuing violence that took place in the national capital January 26,” a statement issued by the NBA said.
“To construe the reporting on one incident as an intent on the part of the journalists to incite violence, or as an offence, is like shooting the messenger. Also worrisome are the provisions under which the FIRs have been filed – ranging from sedition to harming national integrity and promoting communal disharmony,” the NBA stated.
“Weaponising archaic laws such as Sedition to stifle journalists negates the founding principles of our democracy that recognises the rights of news media to report without fear or favour. Laws such as Sedition are also increasingly being used to impede the functioning of a free press,” it further stated.
The targeting of journalists is an attack on press freedom and severely impairs the media’s ability to perform its journalistic duties as an independent watchdog of our democracy, the NBA said.
“While individual complainants are entitled to their grievances, the State, which understands the critical role of the media and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, should ensure that the cases filed by the police against the senior editors and journalists are withdrawn,” the statement pointed out.
In a separate development the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) urged Monday the Indian government to honour its international commitments to the Commonwealth and the United Nations. The asked the Centre to ensure that media is free to play its constitutional role as a guardian of the public interest and in holding elected governments to account.
The CJA is a 43-year-old organisation based in London and advocating press freedom. It called on the relevant authorities to withdraw the First Information Reports (FIRs) issued against leading editors and journalists for their coverage of the farmers’ protest in Delhi, January 26.
“The CJA is particularly alarmed at the use of laws pertaining to sedition and criminal conspiracy against journalists who were simply doing their job, reporting events as they happened. Many of these laws are of colonial origin and in urgent need of reform,” the CJA statement said.
“The CJA urges the government to act firmly to protect those journalists who face harassment online and offline, death threats, violence and even assassination in the course of their work and to end the impunity enjoyed by their attackers. India’s reputation as the world’s largest democracy is increasingly at risk as cases of arbitrary arrests and prosecutions multiply,” the statement added.
Freelance journalist Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh (with Online News India) were detained by Delhi Police Sunday evening for allegedly misbehaving with personnel on duty. While Singh was later released, the police arrested Punia.