It is one of the most foolhardy things to do, the Congress decision that the INDIA alliance parties will not send spokespersons to prime-time shows of 14 television anchors. India alliance to boycott 14 news anchors is the biggest move untill now to confront with so called one way media anchors.
In a move that highlights the intensifying tension between the opposition and the Indian media, the ‘India’ alliance has announced a boycott of 14 TV journalists. All political parties included in the alliance have decided not to send their spokespersons to the shows hosted by these news anchors. The list of news anchors was released by Pawan Kheda, Congress leader and Chairman of Media and Publicity Department.
The names included in the list are Sudhir Chaudhary, Chitra Tripathi, Aditi Tyagi, Aman Chopra, Amish Devgan, Anand Narasimhan, Arnab Goswami, Ashok Srivastava, Gaurav Sawant, Navika Kumar, Prachi Parashar, Rubika Liaquat, Shiv Aroor, Sudhir Chaudhary, and Sushant Sinha.
The opposition has long accused the TV media of sowing division between Hindus and Muslims and providing inadequate coverage to their leaders. Even during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the editors boycotted the event, despite receiving public support.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the Congress party has boycotted TV channels. In 2019, after the Lok Sabha election results, the party refrained from sending its spokespersons to TV shows for a month.
Sudhir Chaudhary, one of the news anchors mentioned in the boycott list, has recently landed in further trouble. The Karnataka Police has registered an FIR against him, alleging that he spread false information about the state government’s commercial vehicle concession scheme for minorities. The FIR, registered under sections 505 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code, accuses the channel and its consulting editor of promoting enmity between different groups and disturbing communal harmony in the state.
In response to the FIR, Sudhir Chaudhary, advisory editor of ‘Aaj Tak’ channel, has stated that he is prepared to fight the charges in court.