NDTV ‘journalist’ Sreenivasan Jain took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his anger over the ‘alleged’ inaction of the Union government against Sudarshan News. The journalist, known for downplaying a terrorist attack as ‘chota-mota’, accused the Centre of safeguarding its ‘own people’ at all costs.
Sreenivasan Jain was incensed after Sudarshan News cited the NDTV show on ‘Hindu terror’ in the Supreme Court. While attacking the Centre, the NDTV journalist tweeted that it was ‘worth-noting’ the supposed extent to which the Union government had gone to defend Sudarshan TV.
He wrote, “From the Solicitor General discovering press freedoms, to bogus whatabouttery (what about shows on Hindu terror?) to insisting that the Court first regulate digital media.”
The extent to which the Centre has gone to stall action against Sudarshan TV is worth noting. From the Sol. Gen. discovering press freedoms, to bogus whatabouttery (‘what about shows on Hindu Terror?’), to insisting that the Court first regulate digital media. 1/n
— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) September 22, 2020
Jain further alleged that it was a common practice for political parties to shield its people in the media. He added that the government occasionally sacrifices its own for the sake of neutrality and rule of law, provided the crime is ‘egregiously bad.’
Sreenivasan Jain tweeted, “All parties/govt’s go out of their way to protect ‘apne log’ – our people. But occasionally, to maintain the veneer of neutrality and adherence to rule of law, you allow the action, especially if the stakes are low, and the ‘crime’ is egregiously bad.”
All parties/govt’s go out of their way to protect ‘apne log’ – our people. But occasionally, to maintain the veneer of neutrality and adherence to rule of law, you allow action , especially if the stakes are low, and the ‘crime’ is egregiously bad.. 2/n
— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) September 22, 2020
The NDTV journalist then suggested that the Centre did not even want to pretend to even look neutral or uphold law of the land. He alleged that the government of the day would leave no stone unturned to defend its ‘own people’, even if would ‘ruin’ the rule of law.
.. like the Sudarshan show, or Kapil Mishra, or the ABVP attackers of JNU. But this regime has again and again its determination to fight to the last to defend ‘our people’, regardless of the ruinous impact on the rule of law. 3/n
— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) September 22, 2020
He named three people, namely, Kapil Mishra, Sudarshan TV, and ABVP workers who allegedly attacked JNU, in the list of those whose crimes were ‘egregiously’ bad according to him. Jain continued with his unsolicited rant, “But this regime has, again and again, its determination to fight to the last to defend ‘our people’, regardless of the ruinous impact on the rule of law.”
Sreenivasan Jain trivialises terror attack to peddle his agenda
During one of his shows on NDTV, Sreenivasan Jain tried to downplay a terrorist attack to peddle his anti-Modi narrative. He had claimed that terrorists such as Ishrat Jahan, gunned down by the Gujarat Police during an ecounter, did not come to kill the then Gujarat Chief Minister but to do a ‘chota-mota‘ (small-time) bomb blast.
Under the garb of informing the viewers about the CBI investigation into the encounter, the NDTV journalist had insuinated that since Ishran Jahan had come to only execute a small-time terror attack, therefore, she ought to have been treated well by the Gujarat police. Conveying that the terrorist deserved a ‘fair trial’, he tried to paint terrorism as a ‘no-big deal’ issue. It is therefore, surprising that a journalist who was once at the forefront of providing intellectual cover fire to a slain terrorist is today incensed about the government’s alleged defence of a news channel, with views and opinions contrary to his.
NDTV journalist slammed by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
In a recent interview with investor and businessman Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on NDTV, ‘journalist’ Sreenivasan Jain got a lesson in ethical media reporting. “I am a fan of Mr. Modi – This is a well-known fact. As an Indian, I have a right to my political choices… But, I find you prejudiced. I find NDTV prejudiced against the government,” Rakesh Jhunjhunwala emphasised. The NDTV journalist then made one last desperate attempt to dismiss the allegations against him and his media channel.
Sreenivasan Jain said, “You feel that your opinion is not prejudiced.” Lambasting the motivated journalism of NDTV and Jain, the businessman reiterated, “Well, I am a political animal. The press is not a political animal. You are supposed to be unprejudiced.” Without nothing left to say, the journalist laughed aloud and claimed, “I would love to think that I am unprejudiced.”
