INDIA to boycott TV debates hosted by pro-BJP anchors for 'hate-filled narrative'

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: The Opposition INDIA coalition on Wednesday announced that it will not send its representatives on TV debate shows hosted by 14 news anchors perceived to be close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The anchors are Aditi Tyagi, Aman Chopra, Amid Devgan, Anand Narasimhan, Ar nab Goswami, Ashok Shrivastav, Chitra Tripathi, Gaurav Sawant, Navika Kumar, Prachi Parashar, Rubika Liaquat, Shiv Aroor, Sudhir Chaudhary and Sushant Sinha. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal made the announcement after a meeting of the coordination committee at the home of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said: “I am talking about godi media...There are some anchors who speak against the INDIA alliance. It was decided that our representatives would not go there.”

The term “godi media”, which roughly translates to lapdog media, has been used by several Opposition leaders to refer to journalists and television channels perceived to be biased in favour of the BJP.

Justifying the action, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, who is a part of the committee of opposition parties that took the decision in their virtual meeting, said some channels have put up a 'nafrat ka bazaar' (market for hatred) for the last nine years.

The INDIA parties have decided not to legitimise this "hate-filled narrative" which is corroding our society, he noted.

"That was the idea behind this decision," he said, adding that the opposition bloc does not want to be a party to any such action which adds hatred in society.

"We are not opposed to any of the anchors, but we do not want to be a party to such endeavours," Khera said, adding that they can create memes or target their leaders but will not create such an atmosphere.

"We will not be customers in this market of this hate," he asserted.

"We have taken this decision and issued this list with a heavy heart. We hope these anchors will do some introspection and take some corrective measures," the Congress leader said.

Union minister Hardeep Puri compared the move to the Emergency that curbed media rights.

"The only instance we have seen of civil liberties being curtailed in India was during the Emergency in 1975," he said in a post on X.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha reportedly said the media sub-group of the alliance had recommended that its leaders should not participate in shows by anchors who hold “inflammatory debates.”

BJP dubs INDIA 'arrogant'

Opposing the decision of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance(INDIA) to boycott 14 news anchors, the BJP dubbed the alliance ‘Ghamandiya’ (arrogant) alliance, and said that it strongly condemns the decision to boycott some journalists and issue threats to them.