The Opposition INDIA alliance on Wednesday decided to list certain television news anchors and shows that will be boycotted by their party representatives.
This decision was reached during the first meeting of the Coordination Committee hosted at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Wednesday.
A sub-group on media of the Coordination Committee will draw up the names of anchors and shows which will be boycotted.
During a press briefing following the meeting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal made the announcement, stating, “The Coordination Committee authorised the sub-group on media to decide upon the names of the anchors on whose shows none of the INDIA parties will send their representatives.”
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The decision came amidst allegations by Opposition parties that certain sections of the media show bias towards the government. AAP MP Raghav Chadha emphasised the reason behind the decision, saying, “There are some anchors who conduct provocative debates. We’ll make a list of them, and INDIA alliance partners will stop going to their shows.”
A similar move was made by the Congress party in 2019 when it boycotted television news programs for a month, urging all media channels and editors to avoid inviting their representatives.
Additionally, the committee has decided to hold joint public meetings in various parts of the country. Their first public gathering is scheduled to take place in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, in the first week of October. Discussions on seat-sharing among constituent parties will start promptly.
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The leaders in attendance at the meeting included NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Congress’ K C Venugopal, CPI’s D Raja, SP’s Jawed Ali Khan, DMK’s T R Baalu, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha, NC leader Omar Abdullah, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
However, two panel members, JMM leader Hemant Soren and TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, were unable to attend due to various reasons.
The BJP, in response to the INDIA alliance’s meeting, has criticised it as an “Anti-Hindu Coordination Committee.” This critique follows recent controversies surrounding the Opposition’s comments on the Sanatana Dharma issue, sparked by DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks.
