‘Emergency 2.0’: Union minister Anurag Thakur slams I.N.D.I.A bloc's list boycotting news anchors

The media committee of the I.N.D.I.A bloc prepared a list of anchors whose shows the spokespersons and leaders will not attend.

Published on: Sep 14, 2023, 20:30:27 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday hit out at the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A over its decision to boycott certain television news anchors. While speaking to reporters in poll-bound Rajasthan, Thakur called the move ‘Emergency 2.0’.

""The steps that the INDI alliance have taken against the media is emergency 2.0...This shows that they do not believe in democracy", ANI quoted the Union information and broadcasting minister as saying.

“In states like Bengal and Tamil Nadu, cases are registered against journalists. Now the opposition parties are calling for their boycott. They want to gag the media. There is nothing more shameful than this”, Thakur added while speaking to reporters.

Thakur's cabinet colleague Hardeep Singh Puri also hit out at the opposition. “The only instance we have seen of civil liberties being curtailed in India was during the Emergency in 1975. Open calls for eradication of #SanatanDharma, FIRs against journalists & boycott of media reflect politics of those dark years of emergency. True face of I.N.D.I.Alliance?”, the Union minister posted on social media platform X.

Union minister Anurag Thakur (File Photo)

The media committee of the I.N.D.I.A bloc prepared a list of anchors whose shows the spokespersons and leaders will not attend. The list includes prominent journalists including Arnab Goswami, Sudhir Chaudhary, Chitra Tripathi, Gaurav Sawant, Shiv Aroor and others.

“Everyday at 5 pm onwards, shops of hate are set up on television channels. We will not remain a customer of ‘Nafrat Ke Bazaar’ (market of hate'. Our mission is a hate-free India. With a heavy heart, we have decided not to attend the shows and events of some anchors. We have been fighting baseless comments against our leaders and fake news and continue to do so. But we will not let hate spread in the society. Hate will lose, love will triumph”, Congress leader Pawan Khera said in a post on social media platform X.

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HT News Desk
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