The Gauhati Press Club (GPC) has slammed Assam minister Pijush Hazarika for allegedly threatening a TV journalist of the state.
Assam minister of state for health, Pijush Hazarika is the BJP candidate for the Jagiroad Assembly constituency.
In an audio clip, which has gone viral, minister Pijush Hazarika is heard intimidating a TV journalist over the phone for airing a news report related to his wife, who is a popular actress of Assam.
Jagiroad Assembly constituency went to polls in the second phase of the Assam Assembly election 2021 on Thursday (April 1).
“The audio clip where Minister and BJP candidate from Jagiroad constituency Pijush Hazarika is reportedly heard intimidating a television journalist over phone for airing a news report is highly condemnable and cannot be condoned at any cost,” Gauhati Press Club said in a statement.
The Gauhati Press Club condemned the act of intimidation in the strongest terms.
The Guwahati-based journalists’ organization further said “it is very unbecoming of a public representative to threaten a journalist of dire consequences, no matter what”.
“At a time when the protection of journalists has become a cause of concern, such an uncalled-for attitude by a public representative comes as a shocker,” said the Gauhati Press Club statement, jointly issued by general secretary Sanjoy Ray and president Manoj Kumar Nath.
If the minister had any complaint related to the content or authenticity of any news report, he could have approached the appropriate authorities for redressal, the statement said.
Terming the minister’s attitude as ‘power-drunk attitude’, the journalists’ organization said it “has taken politicking to a new low”.
The Gauhati Press Club demanded that “appropriate action should be taken against the minister by the Election Commission after verifying the authenticity of the audio clip that had gone viral in the social media”.
The journalists’ body also demanded that the safety and security of the journalists concerned should be ensured by the Election Commission and the state government.