Nepal on Thursday stopped the transmission of all Indian private news channels except Doordarshan, accusing them of airing reports hurting the country's national sentiment.
"We have stopped the distribution of all Indian news channels except Doordarshan," Dinesh Subedi, the chairman of Multi-System Operator (MSO), foreign channel distributor, told reporters in Kathmandu.
"We have halted distribution of India's private news channels as they have aired news reports hurting Nepal's national sentiment," he added.
The development comes after some Indian channels aired reports critical of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and his government. However, the Nepal government did not officially announce halting the telecast of the Indian news channels.
Minister for Finance, Information and Communication Yuvraj Khatiwada also condemned some of the reports aired by the Indian news channels.
"Nepal government condemns such acts," Khatiwada said while responding to a question on the issue during a press meet on Thursday. "The government will seek political and legal ways against such an objectionable act," he added.
Meanwhile, Zee News' Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary said that the neighbouring country was scared of the news anchors of India. "The army was not needed", he added in Hindi.
Twitter users trolled the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) host. "This is how idiots turn shame into victory," a Twitter user said. "Itโs because of people like you our friends in Nepal have started hating some of us ! You are the most ignorant and jingoistic human ( canโt call u a journalist ) I have seen in years," said another.
Here are a few Twitter reactions:
(With PTI inputs)