In a development being hailed by many and criticized by some at the same time, the Karnataka Police have registered an FIR against Aaj Tak news anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for allegedly spreading misinformation through his reporting, on the state and its scheme.
Chaudhary, who has often come under fire on social media for his alleged communally flared reporting against the minorities, has been charged for spreading misinformation on the state government's commercial vehicle subsidy scheme.
On his show, Chaudhary allegedly tried to communalise the state government's scheme by highlighting an advertisement by the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation. The advertisement promises a subsidy on the purchase of commercial vehicles to the poor from religious minorities.
On his show, Chaudhary claimed that the scheme was denied to Hindus. Calling the scheme discriminatory, he allegedly used communally charged and highly emotive language to spread bias and hate. He also did not mention an important aspect of the scheme; that it can be availed by members of the SC, ST and BC communities through other corporations that work with these communities.
What does the complaint say?
The FIR has been filed against Aaj Tak channel and its editor in Karnataka, while Chaudhary has been named as accused number 1. The FIR, registered on September 12, by Seshadripuram Police in Bengaluru, is based on a complaint by Shivakumar S, an official of the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation. Both the anchor and the channel have been booked under Section 505 (statement conducive to public mischief), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different religions) of IPC.
The complaint, apart from other things, accuses the channel of running communally inflammatory fake news. The complaint mentions that the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation has a scheme with a subsidy of 50% or up to Rs 3 lakh for religious minorities, namely Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Parsis. However, the scheme can also be availed through the Ambedkar Development Corporation representing SCs and STs, and other similar corporations representing Backward Classes.
Chaudhary claimed that the state government was only interested in appeasing minorities, which was injustice to the poor Hindus.
Now, he'll play the victim card: Netizens
Biased reporting and misinformation have unfortunately found a firm footing in the age of social media. Reacting to the FIR, Chaudhary has issued a statement asking why he is being booked under non-bailable offenses for merely asking a question. While some came to his defence, others were quick to predict and later point out that it's a nation where the victim card works and Chaudhary will play one too.
