Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam, called the opposition bloc’s intention to boycott 14 news presenters “childish,” saying the move was not new and could be traced back to the Emergency era. Sarma has warned that if the Congress party wins power, the media will be restricted.
“This boycott and media censorship can be traced back to 1975. It is not new. It is a rehearsal for you. For any reason, if the Congress government comes to power, the media will get censored,” he told reporters in Jabalpur.
While slamming the Congress Party, he further said that “But ISRO has made the Chandrayaan at the right time. I will send the entire Congress party to the moon, to form government there…This is childish.”
The 28-party bloc’s media subgroup announced a boycott of 14 news anchors for alleged bias in their coverage of the opposition and hate speech. This practically means that INDIA will not send representatives to their concerts or invite them to any coalition political activities.
According to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, the opposition alliance has targeted every institution in the country, raising the question of whether the list of anchors is more of a “target list” or “hit list” aimed at hitting them with FIRs.
The Congress, on the other hand, insisted that the opposition had not boycotted anyone and had instead resolved not to cooperate with those who foment hatred in society. Pawan Khera, Congress’s media and publicity chief, labeled it a “non-cooperation movement,” adding that they may reconsider their decision if the identified news anchors reverse their decision.
“We have not banned, boycotted or blacklisted anyone. This is a non-cooperation movement, we will not cooperate with anyone spreading hatred in the society…They are not our enemies. Nothing is permanent, if tomorrow they realise that what they were doing is not good for India, we will again start attending their shows,” Khera told reporters in Hyderabad.