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In a significant move, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of opposition parties, declared on Thursday that they will boycott four prominent TV news channels and 14 TV news anchors. This decision comes in response to allegations of provocative and communal content in the debate shows hosted by these channels and anchors, as well as a claim that they are diverting the nation’s attention from pressing issues. The channels targeted for boycott include Times Now, Republic Bharat, Sudarshan News, and Doordarshan.
The Congress Party released a list of the TV news anchors whom they have chosen to boycott during a meeting of the INDIA bloc. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also shared the list of anchors. Pawan Khera, a Congress leader, shared the list during a press conference, stating, “Decision taken by INDIA Media Committee September 14, 2023. Pursuant to the decision taken by the INDIA Coordination Committee in its meeting on September 13, 2023, the INDIA parties will not send their representatives on the shows and events of the following anchors.”
The list encompasses anchors from various news channels:
- Aditi Tyagi
- Aman Chopra
- Amish Devgan
- Anand Narasimhan
- Arnab Goswami
- Ashok Shrivastav
- Chitra Tripathi
- Gaurav Sawant
- Navika Kumar
- Prachi Parashar
- Rubika Liaquat
- Shiv Aroor
- Sudhir Chaudhary
- Sushant Sinha
Sudhir Chaudhary, a journalist with Aaj Tak, responded to his inclusion in the boycott list by asserting that the mentioned TV anchors “refused to be bootlickers and hence are being boycotted.” This announcement coincided with an FIR filed by the Karnataka police against Sudhir Chaudhary for allegedly conspiring to disrupt communal harmony during a show he hosted on Aaj Tak, where he discussed the state government’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme.
Amit Malviya, the national convener of the IT cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), voiced his support for the boycotted TV news anchors. On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Malviya stated, “So I.N.D.I Alliance has released a list of journalists who refused to even bend when the Opposition expected them to crawl. They should wear it as a badge of honor. More power to them.”
The move by the INDIA alliance and the subsequent reactions highlight the ongoing debate over the role of the media in shaping public opinion and the complex relationship between politics and journalism in India.
