The opposition INDIA bloc, after a joint meeting, had released a list of programs by television news presenters that the alliance leader would actively avoid and boycott. The INDIA bloc listed fourteen such TV news presenters who would be boycotted by their leaders.
On Friday, INDIA Bloc member and Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi told reporters that the decision to boycott certain TV news anchors and their shows was taken as the ‘Congress Party’ “does not want to support some journalists who are in the WhatsApp group sitting’. of the BJP Media Cell’.
“The Congress party’s motive behind this decision is not to extend support to some journalists who are part of the WhatsApp group of the BJP Media cell and are spreading hatred in the country, which is a crime under the law.” said Gogoi.
The decision on including anchors and shows was taken at the first meeting of the INDIA Coordination Committee, held at the house of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.
“There are some presenters who are conducting provocative debates. We will make a list of them and the INDIA alliance partners will stop attending their shows,” AAP MP Raghav Chadha said earlier.
The list, shared by various parties that are members of the INDIA coalition, includes the names of Arnab Goswami of Republic Network, Sudhir Chaudhary of Aaj Tak, Amish Devgan of News18 Hindi, Navika Kumar of TimesNow and Gaurav Sawant of IndiaToday Group among fourteen newsreaders.
“The coordination committee has authorized the media sub-group to decide on the names of presenters to whose shows none of the INDIA parties will send their representatives,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said after the meeting on Wednesday.
“Congress has decided not to send spokespersons to televised debates for a month. All media channels/editors are requested not to feature Congress representatives in their shows,” senior party leader Randeep Surjewala had posted on X (former Twitter).
The Coordination Committee has also decided to start the process of allocating seats in view of next year’s general elections.
