On the 18th of September, senior journalist at Doordarshan, Ashok Shrivastava was allegedly attacked wherein his car was hit by an SUV from behind. While the DD News anchor was safe, the incident has raised concerns over the safety of journalists.
As reported earlier in the day, this incident happened at a time when Ashok Shrivastava has fiercely come out in support of IndiaToday journalist Rohit Sharma who was attacked by Congress workers in the US during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the country for asking his views on the Islamist onslaught against Hindus in Bangladesh. The attack on Sharma triggered condemnation from several journalists and netizens alongside the condemnation from the National Press Club (NPC) of Washington DC.
From online trolling and threats by Congress supporters to Congress leader Supriya Shrinate mocking Shrivastava and other journalists who held a protest against Congress’s misconduct against the India Today journalist, Ashok Shrivastava has drawn the Congress ecosystem’s ire. In an elaborate conversation with OpIndia, Shrivastava spoke about the recent alleged attack, his ideology, and more.
“Not me, but attacks on journalists for doing their job remains the core issue”: Ashok Shrivastava tells OpIndia
Speaking to OpIndia, Ashok Shrivastava said that despite the attack on him on Wednesday, to him, the main issue remains what happened to India Today journalist Rohit Sharma in the United States. “For me, even now, the issue is still the same for which we came on the streets. What happened in America, the way a journalist was attacked by the goons of a political party, for me the issue is that such political attacks on journalists should stop,” Shrivastava said.
He further slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his hypocritical stance on press freedom saying that on one hand, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) asserts that the media has the right to ask questions, however, when Rohit Sharma was asking questions to Congress leaders in US, he was manhandled. Shrivastava reiterated that the truth behind the alleged attack on him would emerge only after a thorough investigation, for him, demanding safety against political attacks on journalists for doing their job remains central.
When asked what action he planned to take in response to the alleged attack on him, the senior journalist stated that he is preparing to file a complaint and demand a high-level investigation. He added that he has not sought police protection yet and that the investigative agencies will decide based on the threat perception whether he needs to be provided security or not. Shrivastava further stated that this could be the fourth political attack on him and that he is concerned for his safety.
“I want to work freely, and every journalist should be able to do their job without fear. In 2011, I was kidnapped in Uttar Pradesh with three others, but no concrete action was taken in that matter, then once Congress and RJD workers barged into my studio and attacked me, I had filed a complaint but I am not satisfied with the police action in that case. I am not sure whether these incidents are mere coincidences or are linked, this is something the probe agencies will look into and decide further course of action,” Shrivastava said.
Ashok Shrivastava said that the truth of whether the Congress supporters were behind the attack or not, whether it was an accident or attack would only be clear after an investigation. “Whether this was a Sanyog [conincidence] or Prayog [experiment] would be revealed after an investigation by the authorities,” he said.
“Not against any political party but always against anti-India ideology”
Speaking about his ideological stance, particularly in the context of his protest against Congress for the manhandling of the IndiaToday journalist in the US by Congress workers, Ashok Shrivastava said that he is not opposed to any political party, however, he is opposed to the ideology that functions against the interests of India.
“I am not against any political party. I have nothing to do with Congress or the BJP. But, my opposition is against the anti-Bharat ideology. If an ideology or its adherent goes to a foreign land and says that Sikhs can’t wear Kada and turban in Bharat. If some political leader claims that minorities are not safe in India or claims that the media is not safe and then his own party workers attack a mediaperson…or if a leader says that democracy is ended in India or that [Article] 370 should be reinstated in Jammu and Kashmir as the Pakistani Defence Minister said that Congress and Pakistan are on the same page…so my opposition is only to this sort of ideology and not against any specific political party. As a journalist, I understand I am not supposed to be pro or against any political party,” Shrivastava said emphasising that even before being a journalist, he is an Indian and as an Indian, he opposes the anti-India ideology adding that every Indian citizen should do the same.
Congress’s Mohabbat ki Dukaan is not for journalists asking ‘uncomfortable’ questions
Last week, journalist Rohit Sharma from India Today was assaulted by Congress workers in Dallas, Texas, during Rahul Gandhi’s US visit. Sharma, covering Gandhi’s trip, asked Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, if Gandhi would raise the issue of Hindus killed in Bangladesh by Islamists following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Before Pitroda could respond, Congress supporters deemed the question ‘controversial,’ assaulted Sharma, and forcibly deleted the interview from his phone. Despite Pitroda suggesting a re-recording, it never happened. Be it the manhandling of Sharma, the online trolling and mocking of Ashok Shrivastava and protesting journalists, Congress has demonstrated that its advocacy for press freedom is farcical and the party only invokes it when it suits their narrative and crushes the same otherwise.
