Press Club Of India Advise Politicians To Not Make Personal Comments Against Journalists (image @CMOfficeAssam)
The Press Club of India (PCI) extended support to Guahati Press Club’s statement over allegedly targeting a journalist’s religious identity. The statement was released after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned a Muslim journalist’s religious identity.
Press Club of India said that in a democratic country, journalists have every right to question those who are in powers and it should not be taken personally. The press club advised “politicians not to make personal comment against the journalist’s caste, creed, religion or ethnicity”.
It is advised to politicians not to make personal comment against the journalist’s caste, creed, religion or ethnicity.
In democracy, the journalists have every right to question those who are in powers and it should not be taken personally.
Gauhati Press Club’s statement 👇 pic.twitter.com/k7cLV4pI8W
— Press Club of India (@PCITweets) August 22, 2024
The Guahati Press Club said it had “noted with concern increasing instances of disparaging responses by political leaders when journalists ask them qestions”.
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The incident happened on August 21, during a media interaction in Guwahati. A reporter named Shah Alam questioned Sarma about the alleged illegal hill-cutting at Mandakata, which comes under his constituency – Jalukbari. Alam is a reporter of a Guwahati-based local online news portal named Newz Now.
Video of the interaction went viral. During the press interaction, the CM asked the reporter’s name and associated him with the Muslim owner of the private university on the outskirts of Guwahati, which Sarma had earlier accused of indulging in ‘flood-jihad’ by cutting hills in nearby Meghalaya leading to flash floods in Guwahati.
This is disgraceful! I strongly condemn @himantabiswa‘s remarks. It’s unbecoming of any Chief Minister. You’ve single-handedly brought this position to a new low. pic.twitter.com/jrlcvxRnRW
— Pradyut Bordoloi (@pradyutbordoloi) August 22, 2024
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“I would like to question Shah Alam and Mahbubul Haque of USTM (University of Science and Technology Meghalaya) whether they would allow us to live in Assam,” Sarma said. He also added that the biggest issue in the state was demographic change (the Muslim population growing at a faster rate than Hindus).
In its statement, the Guahati Press Club said, “We urge all political leaders to ensure no recurrence of such instances in the future and show dignity to their position and the media’s role”.
In a statement issued by president Durba Ghosh and general secretary Nasreen Habib of the Assam Women Journalists Forum, it is said that, “A journalist’s duty is to ask questions. To answer or not is the prerogative of the person being asked the question. However, in this case, the concerned journalist’s question was pulled out of context, with his religious identity foregrounded without any conceivable reason”.
