India News | Tripura Journalists Stick to Their Demand for Apology by Deb, Turn Down His Invitation

Agartala, Oct 20 (PTI) The majority of the journalists who had been invited by the Tripura chief minister to a discussion here turned it down sticking to their demand that Biplab Kumar Deb should withdraw his "controversial" comments against the media and expres regret for it.

Sources said that two out of the ten veteran journalists invited by Deb to a discussionon on GST and creation on 'Swanirbhar Tripura' here on Monday did not turn up.

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A CMO official on the other hand said on Tuesday that no invitation had been sent to any office bearer of the Assembly of Journalists which is protesting against Deb's comment and demanding his apology.

"The CM hasn't invited anyone from Assembly of Journalists. He invited some media persons in their individual capacity, not on behalf of any organisation", the official said.

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He maintained that the CM's speech was taken out of context and distorted.

The AOJ has been protesting against Deb's comments at Sabroom in September, which they said were a "threat to the media and an assault on press freedom".

The chief minister laying the foundation stone for the first special economic zone at Sabroom in South Tripura district on September 11 had said, "Some newspapers are trying to confuse people, getting over excited... History will not forgive them, people of Tripura will not forgive them and I, Biplab Deb will not forgive them.

"I do what I say, history is testimony to that," he had said.

The speech had gone viral in the social media and drew the ire of the scribes who organised a series of meetings and served a three-day ultimatum to Deb to withdraw his comment.

The chief minister did not but went soft saying he did not mean to threaten anyone in his speech.

The journalists met Governor R K Bais seeking his intervention and protested by wearing black ribbons on Gandhi Jayanti.

The AOJ later wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Press Council of India stating that at least six journalists have been assaulted since Deb's comments.

There has been no progress in the investigation in any of the cases despite complaints to the police, the association said. "A small section of journalists are trying to spoil the AOJ's movement of Assembly of Journalists which is protesting against the chief minister's threat to the media and the increasing incidents of assault on media persons," the president of the association and Agartala Press Club Subal Kumar Dey said on Tuesday.

The journalists will continue their protest against the chief minister till he withdraws his comment and expresses regret for it, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)