Ahmedabad, January 19
A little-known right wing Hindu outfit today ransacked the NDTV’s office here and assaulted two staffers to protest the news channel’s SMS poll with noted painter M F Husain as a contender for the Bharat Ratna.
Some 20 activists of Hindu Samarajya Sena, armed with hockey sticks, attacked the private channel’s office located in a residential area.
The activists, who were searching for the reporters, vandalised the office when they did not find them and beat up two office staffers.
According to NDTV journalists, the group said the channel was “anti-national” and it should apologise for including Husain’s name as a nominee in the SMS poll for the country’s top
civilian honour.
Senior police officers arrived at the studio’s office and a complaint was registered, sources said.
The incident is not a one-off in Gujarat. Aamir Khan’s ‘Fanaa’ and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ faced violent protests last year. Also, right-wing protests took place last year at Vadodara’s M S University over controversial paintings by a student.
Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah said the culprits have been identified and would be nabbed.
Promising strict action against those involved in the ransacking of the channel’s office, he said that the BJP government’s policy is very clear that no one can take law in his hands.
Former Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) R B Sreekumar, a known critic of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, described the incident as a message to those who do not toe the saffron organisations line.
— PTI
