Editors Guild slams Yogi govt for FIR against Mirzapur journalist

The Editors Guild of India on Monday condemned the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for slapping serious criminal charges against journalist Pawan Jaiswal for his report that mere rotis and salt were being served to school children in mid-day meal in Siyur primary school, Mirzapur.

“It is a cruel and classic case of shooting the messenger. It is precisely exposés such as these that show how valuable free and fearless journalists are to a democratic society,” the Guild said in a statement.

“It is shocking that instead of taking action to fix what is wrong on the ground, the government has filed criminal cases against the journalist. Even if the government believes that his report is wrong, there are easy and conventional redresses available. Using the IPC and police is no way to respond to this,” it said.

The Guild urged the government to withdraw cases against Jaiswal and ensure that he is not put to any further harm or harassment.

The editors’ body also expressed concern over recent incidents of restrictions on the overseas travel of journalists.

“The latest being the denial of travel permission at the airport for journalist Gowhar Geelani, who works for a German media organisation. The law does indeed give the government such powers but only in the rarest of rare cases and following due procedure and disclosure. There must be transparency in these decisions,” it said.

The Guild urges the government not to create a situation where the constitutionally and legally mandated freedoms of media representatives are compromised, it stressed.