West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has come out in support of India Today editor and anchor Rajdeep Sardesai who was taken off air for two weeks at the end of January for saying that a protesting farmer had died after being shot during the Republic Day tractor rally. The Delhi police claimed that the farmer died in an accident that occurred when his tractor overturned and released a video. However, the family has alleged that the death was due to a bullet and they have sought a probe on two injuries and an exit wound found on the farmer's body.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave (East), Mamata said, “See what is happening in Rajdeep’s case? He has not been coming on TV for 15 days. The Editors Guild has also criticised it. If the media is not powerful, who will be the common people’s voice? Who will bring out their issues? If the media is not powerful, who will demand justice when there is injustice?”
Stressing the importance of media and judiciary in a democratic setup, Mamata said that she wanted the media to progress. Referring to the riots in Delhi, she questioned if anyone knew the real numbers or data. “Does anyone here know? Even we don’t know. There is no information on it; information is missing, except agency information. This is why the media needs to be powerful,” she said.
She said that the media needs to be even stronger than the government. “During Indira Gandhi’s emergency, the media played a very, very important role. If something happens to you [media], the country’s people will stand with you.”
Rahul Kanwal, news editor and another India Today anchor, who was interviewing Mamata pointed out that Rajdeep was still a part of the India Today group. However, Mamata argued that though he was a part of the group, he had been deprived of his voice. “He has a voice but has been rendered voiceless. That is the biggest punishment,” she said.
Watch the video here.
इतना शर्मिंदा किसी पत्रकार या संस्था को होते नहीं देखा। देखें pic.twitter.com/oL2Qn7zxwA
— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) February 11, 2021
Mamata had earlier also tweeted her support for Rajdeep. On January 29, a day after it was circulated that Rajdeep would be off air for a fortnight, Mamata had expressed her shock, and questioned media’s silence on the issue.
I am shocked at what is happening to senior journalist @sardesairajdeep
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 29, 2021
It is also surprising how most in the media are silent on this issue. In our democratic system we must raise our voice. The media is an important pillar of our democracy