Several opposition leaders led by Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and various journalist organisations, including the Editors Guild of India, strongly condemned the one-day ban on leading Hindi TV channel NDTV India by the Centre over its coverage of Pathankot attack.
The Editors Guild of India demanded that the decision be withdrawn immediately. A similar view was expressed by the Broadcast Editors’ Association (BEA).
The Guild said: “The decision to take the channel off the air for a day is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and therefore the citizens of India and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency.” NDTV termed the order as “shocking,” stating that it has been “singled out.” It said it is examining all options in the matter, indicating that it was considering moving the court against the Centre’s directive.
“After the dark days of the Emergency when the press was fettered, it is extraordinary that NDTV is being proceeded against in this manner,” NDTV said in a statement, adding that “every channel and newspaper had similar coverage.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh suggested that all newspapers and channels “show courage” and “go off air and not publish” on that day to register their protest.