Press freedom: India falls to 138 in RSF rankings
New Delhi, April 25: With increasing “physical violence” against journalists reported in India, the country’s ranking in the Press Freedom Index has fallen two places to 138, said a statement from the annual report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The killing of Gauri Lankesh has been seen as the key reason behind the fall. The report warned that hate crime is another issue plaguing India.
“Hate speech is also an issue in the continent’s other giant, India, which has fallen another two places to 138th. Ever since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, Hindu fundamentalists have been referring to journalists in extremely violent terms,” the report said.
The report also mentioned that, “Any investigative reporting that annoys the ruling party or any criticism of Hindutva, elicits a torrent of online insults and calls for the death of the reporter or writer responsible, most of it coming from the prime minister’s troll army.”
Citing the case of Gauri Lankesh, the Reporters Without Borders(RSF) report said, “The newspaper editor Gauri Lankesh was gunned down outside her home in September after being the target of hate speech and death threats for criticising Hindu supremacy, the caste system and discrimination against women.”
“The physical violence against journalists is largely responsible for India’s low ranking. At least three journalists were murdered in connection with their work. More were killed in circumstances that were unclear, as is often the case in rural areas, where reporters are poorly paid,” according to the RSF ranking.
While India dropped two points, Norway continues to top the list of having the world’s freest press for two consecutive years, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. The lowest ranking in the list was North Korea followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and then China.
China’s ranking remained unchanged at 175th position for the second year. Underlining that China’s censorship and surveillance has reached unprecedented levels due to the massive use of new technology, the RSF said foreign reporters are finding it harder to work and ordinary citizens can now be jailed just for sharing content on a social network or during a private chat on a messaging service.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
No row over Maharashtra CM's post; leaders of Mahayuti will decide: Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday denied any row over the CM's post and asserted that leaders of Mahayuti will take a call even as counting of votes showed the saffron party-led coalition is heading for a landslide victory.
Addressing reporters, Fadnavis said the results of the Maharashtra assembly polls show that the state supports PM Narendra Modi and also thanked women voters.
"Opposition’s efforts of propagating a fake narrative, and polarisation of voters based on religion foiled by masses," said Fadnavis.
The Deputy CM said he succeeded in breaking the 'chakravyuh' of opposition due to the support of voters, the BJP team and party leaders.
With some leaders in BJP demanding that Fadnavis don the mantle of the next CM, the BJP stalwart said there was no row over the CM's post in Mahayuti- comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP.
"Leaders of Mahayuti parties will decide (on next CM)," Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai.
He said the people of Maharashtra have shown that the party headed by Eknath Shinde is the real Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray.
As per the poll trends, the BJP has won 10 constituencies and leading in 120.
