Ankur Mehta
Most of us woke up on 5th June 2017 with the news of NDTV being “witch-hunted”. The liberal armies on social media who claim to be holier than cow and pure than the Rajasthan judges’ peacock are out in open to fight against the “government gag on independent and neutral press”.
Although we can digest the claim of media personnel that they are independent (to some extent) but the press neutrality is long dead in India. It is as evident as the fact that a peacock, weather “pious” or not, dance in the rain.
Time and again we witnessed the strained relationship between the Government and the media and this is normal across the geographical and time canvas. We have also seen how a section of media is the mouthpiece of the government of the day. At the same time, there is another section of media which is against the government because it is the mouthpiece of the opposition.
So when CBI raided NDTV promoters recently (NOT the channel or its offices), it was obvious to witness the hue and cry from a section of the media. Social media in general and Twitter, in particular, were flooded with the information claiming the rights and the wrongs of both sides. It was clear as a bell that the section against the Government blamed the latter for the witch hunt. Although the
Although the raids were on the premices of the promoters & Not the channel, the topic of the debate became NDTV Vs BJP. So, on one hand there were AAP+Congress+TMC+Most media, the other side was of BJP, another small section of media and the army of Modi supporters.
Here is what some of the “friends” or supporters of NDTV said:
Hats off to the NDTV! That is the Spirit. We are and shall go all out to oppose a sustained campaign by Govt to muzzle the voice of Media.
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) June 5, 2017
We strongly condemn raids on Dr Roy n NDTV group. Its an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 5, 2017
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 5, 2017
Will professional bodies like NBA & Editors Guild & working journalists’ organizations come out against this attack on media independence?
— N. Ram (@nramind) June 5, 2017
एक ही एेसा चेनेल था जिस पर विश्वास किया जा सकता था। अब छापे के द्वारा उसका मुँह भी बंद करने का प्रयास है। मैं इसकी घोर निंदा करता हूँ।
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) June 5, 2017
Shocked at the raids on Dr @PrannoyRoyNDTV‘s house. He is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 5, 2017
Many famous journalists have joined the bandwagon and left no stone turned to blame the government. On the other hand, there was another section in the intellectia which blamed the latter and came out with facts against NDTV.
Prominent journalist S Gurumurthy slammed NDTV of having a “cry baby” attitude and playing the victim card. He tweets saying that Indian Express fought against the Indira Gandhi during the emergency. This is definitely not an emergency time.
Another journalist, Madhu Kishwar, too blamed NDTV as well as Editor’s guild which gave full support to the former.
I’m a Life Member of Editors Guild of India. None asked us before issuing this statement. I strongly condemn it. #NDTVRaids well deserved https://t.co/eJ3qZDIfoz
— MadhuPurnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) June 5, 2017
Add to that, Subramanian Swamy tweeted something like this:
In this NDTV crime
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 5, 2017
It is evident to note that Swamy has endorsed a book titled NDTV Frauds
Well, the law will take its own course and we hope the culprits get what they deserve, but what is important here in the story is the attitude of media. Every day, media reports a 100 news. These news items include some showing government or opposition in a positive image while some are against them. Does this mean that whenever a journalist is questioned by authority, it can be tagged as government sponsored torture?
Journalists are no James Bond. They should get out of their superiority complex and talk sense. They shoudl understand that the rules for aam aadmi apply to them as well. How come they claim to stand above the law? If government or agencies are supposed to be silent on journalists, it will mean that being a journalist will give one a supreme power. Journalists can not do whatever s/he wants to – scam/scam/frauds- and agencies keep watching them silently.
If the journalists play the politician’s game and taunt the government for such an issue of financial frauds, it will be a dangerous situation. NDTV is listed on the stock markets. Many small investors have invested their hard-earned money in the stock. The channel should, apart from journalistic ethics, follow a clean financials. Even if not listed, a company and its promoters should follow the rules of the land and act.
If an agency comes for questioning, it should be assisted in the same rather than chanting the propaganda mantra. Many journos are living in fool’s paradise. It’s high time they start behaving maturely. Satyamev Jayete
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