ISLAMABAD - Senior Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, in a series of tweets on Thursday, said she had been receiving threats from certain quarters in the government who wanted her to stop working in TV news
NDTV’s journalist Ravish Kumar and independent journalist Rana Ayyub had recently accused the ruling BJP of orchestrating systematic online and offline harassment, a new story published in The Hindu on Thursday said.
“Over the last few months those associated with the ruling party have warned me – politely, impolitely – not to work on new TV projects and told me – “we will never allow them to happen”, today I was told a 45 minute meeting held on how to stop me, smear me, malign me, tap me,” Ms. Dutt tweeted. She has been planning to launch a television news channel of her own.
Ms. Dutt also tagged Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, asking him to take note of these threats.
“I hope Rathore, as I&B Minister takes notes of chilling threats conveyed to me on the plans within on how to stop me from working in TV news. And if the government is tapping my phones and bugging my house – it is grossly illegal and a violation of my privacy. Thank you,” she said.
There has been no response yet from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
“I never thought the day would come when in my own country, I would be told to hire private security & get my house debugged. I suppose i should be ready for phone taps, IT cases, ED raids, death threats – the meeting held by those who wield power have said – Stop her work projects,” she said.