Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday hit out at The New York Times (NYT) for a report in which the leading U.S. daily claimed that the attackers at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) had raised “Jai Shri Ram” slogans.
In a dig at the newspaper, he said it seemed that The New York Times consists of the most “ardent bhakts” of Lord Ram as they seem to find him everywhere.
He also said he was waiting to read the newspaper’s report on last week’s violence at a historic Sikh shrine in Pakistan.
The Union Minister’s criticism of the U.S. daily came a day after he hit out at the British daily Financial Times for referring to the masked mob that attacked JNU students and teachers as “nationalists”, asking it to stop predicting India’s disintegration at every opportunity.
Tagging screenshots of the NYT report, Mr. Javadekar said on Twitter, “It seems @nytimes consists of the most ardent bhakts of Lord Ram as they seem to find him everywhere. On a serious note, waiting to read @nytimes ground reporting of the violence and religious persecution from Shri Nankana Sahib. Which slogans did they hear there?”.
In a series of tweets on Monday slamming the British daily, Mr. Javadekar had said, “I know it’s a bit too much for you to understand India, but here’s an effort: Stop predicting the breaking apart of India at every possible chance you get. India is a diverse democracy and it has always assimilated all differences to emerge stronger.”
Masked people brandishing hockey sticks and iron rods unleashed mayhem at the University on Sunday, trawling through corridors and breaking into hostels, including those occupied by women, to brutally thrash students and teachers.
