Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday expressed concern over continuous attacks on journalists in West Bengal and urged the state to ensure the safety of mediapersons.
Law and order is a state subject and the state government should provide an environment for mediapersons to work independently, he said during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
Reading out a series of attacks on journalists in the state under Banerjee’s watch, Thakur said, “On the day of civic elections in October 2015, 20 journalists were beaten up; in February 2022, four journalists were beaten up in civic polls in North Dumdum and East Midnapore; 10 journalists were beaten up in during the process of filing nominations for the 2023 Panchayat elections. In June 2013, during coverage of the feud between AITC, three photojournalists were beaten so badly in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas, that they had to be admitted to the hospital.”
Responding to a starred question by Trinamool MP Dola Sen on “policy framework for protection of journalists”, Thakur added that he has a complete list of attacks in which many big journalists are named but he does not want to present all this in the House. Sen was not present in the House at the time of reply.