A correspondent with Zee Punjabi was allegedly chased away by farmers at the ongoing protest in Delhi, as part of the farmers' anger towards sections of the Indian media. According to farmers at the scene, the farmers also threw water at the journalist, Vasu Manchanda.
Manchanda, however, told Newslaundry that the farmers threw "hot tea" at him.
"At around 1 pm, I reached there for my live show for my channel," he said. "As soon as I reached the spot, people started raising slogans such as 'Godi media, go back'. However, I was trying to make them understand that if they wanted to say anything, they could say it live. I even said Zee Punjabi is different from Zee News. Since the very beginning, we have reported on the farmers' protests. But still, they didn't budge."
Farmers present at the time told Newslaundry that they had objected to Manchanda's line of questioning, which included him reportedly asking some of the older farmers whether they even knew about the farm bills.
Harshdeep Singh, a farmer from Haryana's Karnal, told Newslaundry: "People working at Zee News are dumb. They are not able to differentiate between a kisan and Kasab. They are referring to farmers as terrorists."
He continued: "Modi ki godi mein baitha hua hai media. These are no longer news channels but have turned into cartoon networks. National media channels such as Republic TV, Zee News have corroded and made the fourth pillar of democracy hollow."
Mandeep Singh, a farmer from Jalandhar, said: "Godi media did not report on anything happening in Punjab in the last three months. We don't want them to come here and talk to us."
Earlier today, farmers had raised slogans against "Godi media" and refused to speak to some news channels, including Aaj Tak. Their anger stemmed from coverage such as Sudhir Chaudhary on Zee News suggesting the presence of a "Khalistani hand" behind the protests.
To understand why the farmers are protesting and what this movement is about, read our detailed piece here.
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