From Arnab Goswami to Sudhir Chaudhary: I.N.D.I.A bloc boycotts 14 TV anchors

A day after the I.N.D.I.A Coordination Committee’s decision, the bloc’s Working Group on Media on Thursday put out a list of 14 TV anchors on whose shows the constituents would not send their representatives.

The anchors named are Arnab Goswami (Republic TV), Aditi Tyagi (Bharat Express), Amish Devgan and Aman Chopra (News18 Hindi), Anand Narasimhan (CNN-News18), Ashok Shrivastav (DD News), Sudhir Chaudhary and Chitra Tripathi (Aaj Tak), Navika Kumar (Times Now), Gaurav Sawant and Shiv Aroor (India Today TV), Prachi Parashar (India TV), Rubika Liaquat (Bharat 24) and Sushant Sinha (Times Now Navbharat).

The decision was taken during a digital meeting of the Working Group on Media during the day, after the Coordination Committee asked to prepare a list.

Earlier in the week, the media panel had prepared a draft, which was placed before the Coordination Committee. Sources said there were objections from certain quarters to the proposal in the Working Group on Media but finally it took a decision to go ahead.

Sources also said during the Coordination Committee meeting, some leaders said a similar list should be prepared at state level too, though no such decision was taken.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Opposition bloc by posting on ‘X’, “Boycott of journalists, FIR cases against them. I.N.D.I.A alliance, why so much frustration?”

Some of the journalists whose name figured in the list also lashed out at the I.N.D.I.A parties on social media.

Aditi Tyagi said, "My number is at the top among the list of journalists who ask questions on behalf of the country. Tyagi does not know fear. Jai Hind."

Ashok Shrivastava said, "I had said yesterday that many journalists are the target of the opposition. Initially there were 34 names in this list but some people (including some big names) accepted to cave in and then the list of remaining 14 people was released."

Sudhir Chaudhary posted on 'X', "I.N.D.I.A alliance has released the list of those journalists who refused to become 'Charan Chumbak'. Now they will be boycotted. Now it remains to be seen what answer the Indian media gives to this."