Editors Guild, media groups slam arrest of journalists for airing woman’s comment on Yogi

News Network
June 9, 2019

Newsroom, Jun 9: The Editors Guild of India and several media associations have strongly condemned the arrests of three journalists - Prashant Kanojia, Ishita Singh and Anuj Shukla, for sharing and broadcasting a woman’s comment on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

While freelance journalist Kanojia was arrested for his Twitter activity, Ishita Singh and Anuj Shukla, the head and editor of the private television news channel Nation Liverespectively, for broadcasting a report against the CM.

"The police action is high-handed, arbitrary and amounts to an authoritarian misuse of laws. The Guild sees it as an effort to intimidate the press, and stifle freedom of expression," said a statement issued by the Editors Guild.

In a separate statement, several media associations expressed shock over the police action, calling it a clear case of administrative overreach.

"As media-persons, it is our firm belief that journalists ought to conduct themselves responsibly, yet at the same time, we feel that criminal provisions of the defamation law should be taken off the statute books, given their repeated use against journalists and others," said a statement collectively signed by the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), Press Club of India (PCI), South Asian Women in the Media (SAWM, India), Press Association.

The media bodies urged the UP government to withdraw the criminal defamation charges against all three journalists.

Kanojia had shared a video on Twitter and Facebook where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside the CM office claiming that she had sent a marriage proposal to the CM. The woman claimed to be Adityanath’s lover saying says she wanted to spend her life with him.

"The FIR is based on the journalist sharing on Twitter the video of a woman claiming a “relationship” with the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The television channel had broadcast a video on the same issue. Whatever the accuracy of the woman’s claims, to register a case of criminal defamation against the journalists for sharing it on the social media and airing it on a television channel is a brazen misuse of law. To give the police powers to arrest, provisions of Section 66 of the IT Act have also been added," the Editors Guild said.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 23: City civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) levied a penalty of Rs 50,000 on the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for using single-use plastic cups during the recent India-Australia one-day international match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

"Despite many awareness meetings, BBMP has found that single-use plastic cups were used during yesterday's cricket match and has fined KSCA Rs 50,000 as penalty," tweeted the civic body commissioner BH Anil Kumar.

The state cricket association treasurer Vinaya Mruthyunjaya said the civic body gave a general notice without detailed information on plastic use.

"We have been environmentally friendly for the last many years and at all gates, security has made sure no plastic or flex was allowed inside the stadium," Mruthyunjaya told media.

Mruthyunjaya said KSCA sought information from the civic body as to where the single-use plastic cups were found in the stadium during the India-Australia match.

On January 16, KSCA president Roger Binny inaugurated a plastic bottle shredder at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in addition to other green initiatives at the cricket ground such as solar panels, sub-air system, biogas unit, rainwater harvesting and others. 

Similarly, in December 2019, BBMP cracked down on popular fast food eatery – Adyar Anand Bhavan in HSR Layout and fined the establishment Rs 1 lakh for plastic use.

In October, the BBMP fined eateries including McDonald's in central Bengaluru for using plastic.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 16: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan today said that if former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, being a law-abiding citizen, does not follow guidelines then action will be taken against him.

The Deputy CM made this comment when he was asked about Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil's marriage, which has been fixed on April 17 at a farmhouse near Bidadi in Ramnagar.

Narayan said: "Any violation of the guidelines will not be tolerated. We will ask the concerned authority to film the entire event and document it."

He said that so far Kumaraswamy has made public statements that guidelines will be followed.

"HD Kumaraswamy is a people's representative. He has been in public life for a long time. He should abide by the guidelines," Narayan said.

"Since he has been in a responsible position for a long time and he was the Chief Minister, guidelines must be followed in his son's marriage as per the rules amid COVID-19 scare.

After the marriage, there must not be any excuses. He cannot say that people came without an invitation," the Deputy Chief Minister added.

Kumaraswamy clarified that only his family members will attend the marriage and that there will be around 60 to 70 people.

"All guidelines will be followed as per the central government directives," he said.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Mangaluru, May 5: The principal of St Agnes College, Mangaluru, Sr Dr Jeswina AC attained superannuation after 28 years of dedicated and fruitful service.

Sister Dr Venissa AC, the associate professor of the department of Economics, has been appointed by the Apostolic Carmel Educational Society Management as the principal of the college. Sister Roopa Rodrigues AC. has been appointed as the vice principal.

Sr Dr Venissa AC was earlier serving as the vice principal at St Agnes College.

The college and the management has thanked Sr Dr Jeswina AC for the dedicated services she has rendered to the college.

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