?The Telegraph violated journalistic norms?: Press Council of India sends notice to the leftist rag for comparing President Kovind to COVID-19

The Press Council of India has issued a show-cause notice to the leftist rag Telegraph for comparing President of India Shri Ramnath Kovind to the deadly COVID-19.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the Press Council of India took suo motu cognizance of the headline of the newspaper on March 17, 2020, projecting the President of India as Coronavirus in what it claimed as a ‘satirical’ manner. A show-cause notice has been issued to the ultra-left Telegraph for the violation of journalistic conduct.

The council stated that the satirical comments, ridiculing and denigrating the first citizen of the country was uncalled for and termed it as beyond the call of the fair journalistic comment.

The Telegraph, on Tuesday, carried a headline, “Kovind, not Covid, did it”, that insulted the Dalit community as it compared the President of India, Ramnath Kovind, who is a Dalit leader, to ‘Covid19’. Several Dalit activists had slammed the newspaper for its obnoxious remarks about President Shri Ramnath Kovind. Several activists and writers demanded an unconditional apology and expressed that they would explore options in the judicial process against the slanderous remarks about President Kovind, the second Dalit leader to become the President of India.