(S.Ravi Seshu)
The Modi government’s decision to block NDTV India on November 9 as a punishment has not been taken lightly by the Editors Guild of India and Broadcasters Editors Association. Both the professional bodies condemned the decision of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and demanded that it should withdraw it forthwith.
The Editors Guild of India ‘strongly condemned’ the ‘unprecedented decision’ of the inter-ministerial committee of the Ministry and demanded that ‘the order be immediately rescinded.’
Editors Guild of India President Raj Chengappa, Secretary Prakash Dube and Treasurer Seema Mustafa in a statement said: “The decision to take the channel off the air for a day is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and therefore the citizens of India and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency.”
It further added: ” The first-of-its-kind order to impose a blackout has seen the Central government entrust itself with the power to intervene in the functioning of the media and take arbitrary punitive action as and when it does not agree with the coverage. There are various legal remedies available to both a citizen and a state in the Court of Law to have action taken for any irresponsible media coverage. Imposing a ban without resorting to judicial intervention or oversight violates the fundamental principles of freedom and justice. The Editors Guild of India calls for an immediate withdrawal of the ban order.”
The Broadcasters Editors Association expressed ‘deep concern’ at the government’s decision and said: Imposing a ban is a violation of freedom of expression and the decision should be withdrawn immediately. BEA would go into the issue in detail and come out with a comprehensive report on it.”
The GoI took objection to the coverage of the Pathankot terror attack on January 2, 2016 and observed that the channel unwittingly gave out sensitive information to the handlers of terrorists. However, NDTV management refuted the allegation and maintained that its coverage was sober.