I & B Minister cautions media against narratives that threaten India's integrity

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday urged the media fraternity in the country to remain cautious and desist from giving its space to narratives that threaten the nation's integrity. "I urge the media fraternity to remain cautious and desist from giving its space intentionally or unintentionally to such voices and narratives that have the potential to threaten the integrity of India," he said. "I want to emphasise here that the democratic nature of our great nation will always remain a fact, no matter how many unsubstantiated and illogical opinions are delivered freely from within or abroad," Thakur said, and called upon organisations like Mathrubhumi to develop an effective mechanism to counter these kinds of fake narratives and anti-India bias. His remarks came against the backdrop of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement in London that democracy in the country was under "brutal attack", besides the controversial documentary on Gujarat riots by BBC. Thakur also alleged that subsequently, the Congress government 'abused' Article 356 to sack 93 State governments, striking blow after severe blow to democracy in India, pulping political diversity and making political differences a punishable offence.