FIR against The Wire: PCI flays ‘ham-handed’ efforts of UP govt

NEW DELHI: The Press Club of India on Friday criticised the "ham-handed" efforts of the UP Government in filing an FIR against Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor of news website The Wire, for "merely reporting that UP CM Adityanath had presided over a religious ceremony in Ayodhya recently with a large body of people in attendance after the national lockdown announced by the PM".

The PCI said that CMS, other high political and executive functionaries "should present a good example to society" and "it is not expected that they threaten the media in doing an honest job".

The PCI also expressed its "dismay" at the Union Government's pleas suggesting that only the official version of the COVID-19 situation be reflected in the media and said, "This borders on censorship and we forcefully reject such an approach and express our sharp criticism of it."

In a statement signed by PCI President Anand K Sahay and Secretary-general Anant Bagaitkar, the Press Club said that the Supreme Court had evidently not been persuaded by government's approach and while had asked for the government to make its official version available and accessible to the media, it was careful not to stop the media from doing its work.

The PCI further said that the mainstream media had on the whole "rendered splendid service" in making reliable information available and often dispelling sensationalism and false information circulating on social media and other internet platforms that could hamper the efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Press Club added that a crucial part of the media's work in these times has also been to show the lapses in efforts undertaken by various administrations in India.