New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India issued a strong statement condemning the government’s decision to black out NDTV India for a day on November 9, saying the move brings back memories of the emergency.
“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,” the Guild said. It demanded that the order be immediately rescinded.
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An inter-ministerial committee of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has recommended that NDTV India be taken off the air for a day after it concluded that channel had revealed “strategically sensitive” information while covering the Pathankot terrorist attacks.
The charge against NDTV India is that it broadcast information on ammunition stockpiled in the Pathankot airbase, which could “cause massive harm not only to the national security, but also to lives of civilians and defence personnel” if it was picked up by the terrorist handlers.
However, NDTV, in a statement posted on its website said that its Hindi channel has been singled out. It said that every channel and newspaper had similar coverage and that NDTV India’s was “particularly balanced”. The committee in its order observed that the channel "appeared to give out the exact location of the remaining terrorists with regard to the sensitive assets in their vicinity" when they telecast in real time.
The Editors Guild statement said that this first-of-its-kind order by the government is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and amounts to harsh censorship. It further said that “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.”
In a statement, the Broadcast Editors' Association said: “The BEA expresses deep concern at the govt's decision to ban NDTV India for a day. Imposing a ban is a violation of freedom of expression and the decision should be withdrawn immediately.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.”
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