Journalist and political analyst VV Krishnam Raju has reportedly been arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks about women from the Amaravati region during a debate on Sakshi TV, owned by the family of former chief minister and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Police had already arrested Sakshi TV anchor Kommineni Srinivas who had moderated the debate. A case was registered against the two journalists and the channel’s management on June 9.
In a show on June 6, Krishnam Raju had referred to Amaravati as the ‘capital of sex workers’ while referring to the findings of a study by the National AIDS Control Organisation, which found that Andhra Pradesh had the second highest concentration of sex workers in India.
Leaders of the governing TDP-Jana Sena-BJP coalition had called the remarks an insult to the women of Amaravati and claimed they were made as part of a conspiracy by YSR Congress Party and Sakshi TV, at the behest of YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife YS Bharathi Reddy, who heads the Sakshi Media Group.
Jagan called the arrest of Srinivas an act of political vendetta. He questioned the rationale behind the arrest of a moderator for remarks he never made, simply for hosting a debate. “In any discussion, diverse views are natural. Punishing the anchor for guests’ views is not only unjust but also dangerous,” he said.
A case was registered at the Thullur police station after a complaint lodged by State Madiga Corporation Director Khambampati Sirisha. The accused were booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other relevant sections of the BNS.
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