NEW DELHI: THE Editors Guild of India on Tuesday said Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s statements in response to its report on the media coverage of the ethnic violence were “intimidatory” and urged him to close the FIRs registered against its president and three members.
The Guild said the CM’s labelling of the journalists’ body as “anti-state” and “anti-national” was deeply disturbing. The Manipur Police on Monday registered an FIR against Guild president Seema Mustafa and three members of the fact-finding team that visited the state to examine the media coverage of the ethnic violence.
“The Editors Guild of India is disturbed by the registration of FIRs by the Manipur Police against the Guild president as well as the members of the fact-finding team that visited Manipur to study and document media’s coverage of ethnic clashes in the state,” a statement said. The Guild said the underlying idea of the report was to enable introspection and reflection on the media’s conduct in such a sensitive situation.