"If all are equal before the law, journalists cannot be an exception," wrote Nikhil Wagle on Twitter on Wednesday. Tagged with the hashtag 'MumbaiMigrantMystery' it was clear that the post was referring to the 1000-strong congregation that had descended upon Mumbai's Bandra on Tuesday.
In an earlier tweet he had clamoured for action to be taken against the Editor of ABP News, alongside detained ABP Majha reporter Rahul Kulkarni. For the uninitiated, thousands of workers had gathered near Bandra railway station on Tuesday in defiance of the lockdown norms, apparently due to the rumour about plying of special trains. Kulkarni incidentally had reported that the Indian Railways would be running special trains to take stranded migrants home -- something that many politicians say may have contributed to the chaos that ensued.
But on another recent occasion, Wagle had strongly condemned the filing of an FIR against The Wire's Siddharth Varadarajan. Reportedly, he had been booked by the Uttar Pradesh police for Twitter comments that had alleged that even as the Tablighi Jamaat event took place in Delhi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had insisted on a Ram Navami fair taking place in the state.
The question here is, what exactly sets these two incidents apart? While Kulkarni is facing severe backlash for his reporting, there is no personality-based coverage for the reporter who works with the Marathi arm of ABP.
On the other hand, we have an 'American Journalist', one of the founding editors of The Wire, who in the eyes of many has been a victim of the Uttar Pradesh government's high handed measures for writing an "entirely factual story on COVID-19 and religious events".
Around 3,500 people, including jurists, academics, actors, artistes and writers have thrown their weight behind Siddharth Varadarajan, in support of the truth.
Interestingly, Varadarajan and Kulkarni might be more alike than you think. While talking to Newslaundry.com, Kulkarni had said that he stands by his report aired at 9 am before Prime Minister's speech. He told the news portal that his report had been "based on a circular issued by the office of the chief commercial manager, Ministry of Railways"' and even shared the same on Twitter.
Kulkarni's error was underscored by the Prime Minister's speech extending the lockdown and later, the fact that politicians had called him out on his mistake. But it must be mentioned that in a way Varadarajan's data too did not come to pass -- what with Adityanath's appeal to all ahead of Ram Navami seeking that people stay home.
Nonetheless, we now have a rather notorious, yet obscure journalist, who even his organisation has so far not defended. To paraphrase George Orwell, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
In yet another tweet Wagle said, "It is painful when your professional colleagues are arrested for fake news and rumour mongering". Given that he went on to talk about admitting mistakes and apologising, it is likely that he was talking about Kulkarni. Being somewhat in the same field, I can't help but agree. But at the same time, let me remind you that an FIR has been filed against Varadarajan for the exact same reason.
Of course it is an individual's prerogative with regards who they believe. But it is perhaps more likely to be the person with op-eds dedicated to him who has the support of eminent personalities any way you turn. In the meantime, the fight to avoid 'censorship in the time of coronavirus' continues.
