The Editors Guild of India on Thursday said it was “deeply perturbed” by the government blaming the media for the mass exodus of migrant wo...
The Editors Guild of India on Thursday said it was “deeply perturbed” by the government blaming the media for the mass exodus of migrant workers from cities amid the coronavirus crisis.
On Tuesday, the Centre had urged the Supreme Court to bar media outlets from printing, publishing or telecasting any information about Covid-19 without ascertaining facts with the government. Following this, the top court directed the media to “refer to and publish” the official version about the developments.
“The Guild would state in all humility that it holds the court in the highest respect, but finds this advice gratuitous and unnecessary,” the Editors Guild said in a statement. “Blaming the media at this juncture can only undermine the current work being done by it under trying circumstances. Such charges can also obstruct in the process of dissemination of news during an unprecedented crisis facing the country. No democracy anywhere in the world is fighting the pandemic by gagging its media.”
With businesses upended and establishments shut down due to the lockdown, a massive number of daily wage labourers, many of whom lived where they worked, were suddenly left without jobs and shelter in large cities. With no available means of transport, thousands of them – with elderly...
