‘To intimidate IANS is attack on fourth pillar of democracy’

Lucknow, April 16 (IANS) General Secretary of Journalists Union of Uttar Pradesh R. Jayan on Saturday has hit out at those members of Tablighi Jamaat who are trying to intimidate India’s largest independent newswire IANS. He has urged the Union Government to take the matter very seriously and demanded action against those responsible for this.

“It is a criminal offence to try and intimidate the subscribers and journalists of Indo-Asian News Service by a few so called members of Tablighi Jamaat for reporting the truth. This is also an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy,” Jayan said.

“The Union Government must take this matter very seriously and act immediately against such elements,” he added further saying that, “We have written to the President and Prime Minister of India to demand a fair investigation into the expose` done by the news agency IANS.”

President of Bundelkhand Women Journalists Association Priyanka Tripathi said that at a time when the world is fighting a crucial battle against Covid-19 pandemic, there are attempts to attack journalists and media institutions, which is a cause of concern.

“The attempt to intimidate and silence one of the prestigious organisations like IANS is one such example. Strong actions need to be taken against those responsible for it,” she said.

“This must stop and those responsible should be booked under the NSA in national interest,” she added.

–IANS

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