Shinde clarifies on "crushing media" remarks, says it was meant for social media
The Union Home Minister had stated, "Certain elements in the media orchestrate 'nasty designs'. We will crush such elements in the electronic media, which are indulging in false propaganda"
A day after making the statement, “We will crush such elements in the electronic media, which are indulging in false propaganda”, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde clarified that his comments were on social media and not on journalists.
Shinde had made the contentious statement at a Congress function in Solapur, Maharashtra. He had said, “Certain elements in the media orchestrate ‘nasty designs’. Since I’m also in charge of the intelligence wing, I know where this is coming from. We have been working silently to place checks on them, but there was a campaign from them over the past four months. We will crush such elements in the electronic media, which are indulging in false propaganda.”
Shinde made this statement on the day that the Editors Guild of India issued a notice to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the statements made against media. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had made some remarks against media while addressing a gathering in Rohtak, Haryana on February 23, 2014. Now, the News Broadcasters Association too has objected to what it calls “the unverified, unsubstantiated and highly defamatory charges” being levelled against news channels by Kejriwal.
