Undeclared emergency : Media bodies condemn sedition charges against journalists
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Last Updated: Jan 30, 2021, 10:15 PM IST
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Synopsis Today the atmosphere is such, it s so poisonous, so toxic that anyone who wants to go to the court perhaps is a fool. You know what the result is going to be. Even during the emergency, rules against journalists were not so harsh, I don t recall anybody going in for sedition, Sahay said.
Agencies
DUJ president S K Pande alleged the situation was like an undeclared emergency .
New Delhi: Media bodies Saturday condemned the filing of sedition charges against six senior journalists and editors for their reporting on the farmers tractor parade and the ensuing violence here on Republic Day, alleging the situation in the country is akin to an undeclared emergency . At a protest meeting held here, a number of media bodies including the Press Club of India, Editors Guild of India, Indian Women s Press Corps (IWPC), Delhi Union of Jo
The guild said that the journalists have been specifically targeted for reporting the accounts pertaining to the death of one of the protestors on their personal social media handles as well as those of the publications they lead and represent.
NEW DELHI, IndiaâThe Editors Guild of India has condemned the indictment of journalists just for reporting farmersâ protest on January 26 while terming the move as an attempt to intimidate, harass, and stifle free media. Notably, different FIRs have been registered against six journalists namely Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Pertinently, the ruling party Bharati Janata Party is also ruling the duo states where these FIRs have been registered.
It is learned that as many as ten different sections pertaining to the charges of sedition laws, promoting communal disharmony, insulting religious beliefs etc. have been invoked in this FIR.
The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the intimidating manner in the way in which the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Police have registered FIRs against senior editors and journalists (including current and former office bearers of EGI) for reporting on the farmers' protest rallies and the ensuing violence that took place in the national capital on 26th January.