Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed NYT chairman for his “Indian Journalists are treated as terrorists” remark

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur slammed The New York Times (NYT) chairman A G Sulzberger on May 4 for his remarks that journalists are treated as terrorists in India.

Speaking at a UNESCO event on World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Sulzberger said in India, authorities have raided newsrooms and treated journalists essentially as terrorists.

Anurag Thakur asserted that the law took its own course in India in case of any wrongdoing and no one can claim immunity citing the status of being a media organisation.

“In India law takes its own course if someone does something wrong, newsroom or no newsroom. Mere claiming the status of a newsroom does not grant immunity from unlawful deeds,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Unable to digest the global rise of India and its turning into an economic powerhouse, certain old world media houses have been running a systematic smear campaign against India,” he added.

“How come any investigation, no matter the evidence, amounts to an attack on the press? Is it prudent to be a loose mouth and say journalists in India are treated as terrorists?” added Thakur.

Anurag Thakur wondered how any investigation amounts to an attack on the press. “Is it prudent to be a loose mouth and say journalists in India are treated as terrorists?” the minister asked.

“NYT, which has carved a niche for itself for writing fact-free and fabricated anti-India stories, shamelessly misused the podium of UNESCO to distort facts,” he added.

The minister said it has been difficult for him to differentiate whether the newspaper is “The New York Times or New Distort Times”.

On March 10, Thakur slammed NYT for their biased reporting. He wrote, “New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT’s so-called opinion piece on freedom of the press in Kashmir is mischievous & fictitious published w/the sole motive to spread propaganda about India and its democratic institutions and values,”

“This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Such lies can’t last long,” added the Union minister.