Expressing concern over state broadcaster Prasar Bharati’s “threat to review its subscription to the Press Trust of India (PTI)”, the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC) and Press Association, in a joint statement, said it was ironical that the government chose to crack down on the news agency hours after marking the 45th anniversary of Emergency when the press was heavily censored.
The statement said the PTI was only doing its professional duty. “At a time when the Chinese have intruded into Indian territory, it is the job of the journalist to ask the ‘other side’, in this case a representative of the Chinese government, why this is happening. The interview made all the news — in fact, the Chinese Ambassador even conceded, for the first time, that there had been some casualties on the LAC,” it said.
Though the broadcaster’s letter to PTI didn’t mention any particular report or interview, sources confirmed that the provocation was primarily the two interviews of Indian Ambassador to China and the Chinese Ambassador to India.
“By describing PTI’s ‘recent news coverage’ as being detrimental to ‘national interest and undermining India’s territorial integrity’, it seems the authorities have failed to appreciate the meaning of a free, objective and unbiased media...,” the statement said.
The Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents also slammed Prasar Bharati for trying to “arm-twist” PTI.
