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Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has been threatened of legal action by a right-wing group called the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) for inviting Nandini Sundar who has written extensively about the Naxal conflict in India, on his talk show on India Today.
Responding to the legal threat, Sardesai said:
The news was shared by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri via a tweet which elicited a strong response from the journalist himself.
Nandini Sundar – who is a DU Professor – was invited to the talk show hosted by Sardesai to discuss the deadly Sukma attack which claimed the lives of 25 CRPF personnel. Other guests on the show included Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir and IPS officer Dilip Trivedi.
Sundar in the talk show expressed regret at the death of CRPF personnel, but questioned the government’s role in events leading to the Sukma incident. She also urged the Centre to rethink its strategy to control the growing issue of Naxalism in the country.
In the letter written by the convener of the LRO Vinay Joshi, it is alleged that Sundar is an “overground Naxal worker who pursues relentless agenda of defaming our troops and glorifying blood thirsty Naxals and Maoists.”
It further goes on to blame the channel and Sardesai for promoting “pro-Naxal policy” which is working against the interests of the Indian troops. It also threatens the channel with a complaint under the stringent UAPA Act if it does not apologise for inviting Sundar on the show.
Find the copy of the complaint in the tweet below.
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