A video was shared by a Twitter user yesterday showing an ABP journalist and Aaj Tak’s Anjana Om Kashyap being heckled by a crowd raising slogans against the media. In the video, which the user claimed was from Varanasi, voices of people shouting slogans of ‘Godi media Modi ka Dalal hai‘ can be heard in the background.
बनारस में अंजना ओम कश्यप और एबीपी का रिपोर्टर आम जनता के बीच फंस गए और लगने लगे नारे “गोदी मीडिया मोदी का दलाल है”
अब आप सोचिये आप क्या चाहते हैं?@anjanaomkashyap के चेहरे पर भय की रेखाएं देखिये
जनता मीडिया के फैसले करने लगी है
यह क्रांतिकारी है बेहद क्रांतिकारी! pic.twitter.com/7pu5BF2ieI— आचार्य साहिल آچاریہ ساحل (@AacharyaSahiiL) May 16, 2019
Surprisingly, instead of condemning the unruly behaviour of the people in the crowd, many Twitter users supported the behaviour of the crowd. Some even wished that this should have happened long ago.
YEH KAAM BAHUT PAHLE HONA CHAHIYE tha ?
— THANEDAR Rakesh Ranjan (@rakesh24ranjan) May 16, 2019
One Twitter user went on to say that it would be more fun if the media persons were beaten up.
थोड़ी कुटाई हो जाती तो और भी मजा आ जाता
— M.S. Ahamad (@MDShafi36850934) May 16, 2019
Others cheered too.
बहोत अच्छा हुआ इनके साथ, एैसा ही होना चाहिए दलाल पत्रकारों के साथ। मज़ा आ गया देखके। ??
— Niyázi (@iam_niyazi) May 16, 2019
Some even declared the media as ‘bhakt‘.
वो दिन दूर नही जब ये भक्त मीडिया जनता के बीच जूते खाएगी
— ? Numberdaar ? नम्बरदार ? نمبردار?? (@owaisnumberdaar) May 16, 2019
This is not the first time that journalists have been targeted by a mob. In February 2019 a female journalist of Republic TV along with her crew was attacked by students in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and their camera and equipment were also broken. In another such incident, journalists were attacked and heckled inside Congress headquarters last year by Congress workers who had accused the journalist of being a ‘Modi-Bhakt’ and running pro-Modi news.
