The Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU) and its affiliate, the Journalists’ Union of Assam (JUA), have expressed concern over the “propaganda” under the “NRC authority logo to malign and malign a group of journalists from across the country as anti-nationals” for their critical reports on the ongoing National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the State.
A dossier listing “anti-NRC” journalists and human rights activists has been doing the rounds on the social media for about a week. The office of State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela issued a statement saying it has nothing to do with its creation and circulation.
“The IJU views this as a hate campaign and crass intolerance against opinions and reports by professional journalists,” its president and Press Council of India member Amar Devulapalli said in a statement. He termed the “hate campaign” an attack on the right to free speech and expression.
JUA president Geetartha Pathak, who is also the IJU vice-president, said the dossier was a mischievous attempt to intimidate journalists and discourage them from reporting on and analysing the ground realities in Assam.
The IJU and JUA asked the NRC authority to investigate the dossier’s origin since it has been prepared in their name.
