Editors Guild of India on Friday condemned the I&B ministry’s decision to ban NDTV India for a day on November 9 and said that the decision should be rescinded.
In a statement released on Friday, the Guild said the move was 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.”
The Guild said that there are various legal remedies available to deal with irresponsible media coverage and imposing a ban without resorting to judicial intervention violates the fundamental principles of freedom and justice.
The Guild also points out that the ban is the first ever such order against a TV channel over its coverage of a terror attack.
The Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) also expressed their deep concern on the NDTV ban and asked the government to withdraw the ban immediately.
BEA also added that it would go into the issue in detail and asked NDTV to submit its report.
Meanwhile, many politicians came out in support of NDTV. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi called the ban unprecedented and shocking.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also criticized the ban and called it an ’emergency-like situation’.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged whole media to go off air for November 9 in solidarity with NDTV.
On Thursday, an inter-ministerial committee concluded that the channel had allegedly revealed crucial and ‘strategically sensitive’ information when the Pathankot attack was being carried out and issued orders barring the channel from airing for a day on November 9.
