Boycott 'communal' TV debates: Kushwaha writes to Rahul

Alleging that many news channels are pursuing political agenda of the RSS and the BJP by organising debates on “pseudo-nationalism and communal issues,” Former Union minister and chief of Bihar's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) Upendra Kushwaha has urged Congress president Rahul Gandhi to boycott such programmes.

In a letter to the Congress president, Kushwaha claimed that “these news channels” are airing such programmes only to divert the attention of people from “the real issues," urging Gandhi not to send Congress spokespersons to participate in such debates.

He also said that the RLSP had already decided not to send its spokespersons to such programmes. Kushwaha, however, did not mention in his letter the names of the news channels airing such debates.

This comes close on the heels of incarcerated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad giving a call to the Opposition parties to "#Boycott_Modi _Media” in a tweet on March 11.

“It is a very serious question before the country. Some news channels are trying to create frenzy by raking up issues like temple-mosque, nationalist-sedition and Hindu-Muslim. It seems news channels are carrying forward the agenda of the BJP and the RSS deviating from core issues,” Kushwaha noted in his letter to Gandhi.

He described the issue as “very sensitive,” saying that news channels, which are airing such programmes, are “constantly” making an effort to “entangle” the Opposition parties into debates on “peudo-nationalism and Hindu-Muslim issues.”

“We need to be cautious of them (news channels). It is my humble request to you to boycott such debates aired by the news channels. We should refrain from sending our spokespersons to participate in such debates in the larger interest of the country,” Kushwaha added.