Editors Guild goes missing in action after Congress hounds journalist Shiv Aroor for exposing ‘vote chori’ conspiracy theory of Rahul Gandhi, had rushed to defend Karan Thapar and Siddharth Vardarajan
The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has yet again exhibited its double speak when it came to the subject of ‘press freedom.’ Infamous for its selective activism, EGI has recently advocated for Karan Thapar but has maintained stoic silence over the hounding of journalist Shiv Aroor.
For the unversed, a criminal complaint was filed by the Congress party against Aroor for debunking the ‘vote chori’ conspiracy theory of its leader Rahul Gandhi.
In the program titled “From ‘Chori’ To ‘Sorry’: Vote The Fake Narrative?” aired on 19th August, Shiv Aroor had cited the apology issued by Sanjay Kumar of CSDS for publishing wrong data.
Kumar had alleged massive discrepancies in the Maharashtra voter list. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party had used this false data posted on X to attack the Election Commission and allege ‘vote theft’.
Shiv Aroor pointed out how most of Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against ECI were baseless. He also said that Rahul Gandhi had made it a prestige issue by not stating the allegations in an affidavit as demanded by the Election Commission.
Three days later on Friday (22nd August), Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera posted a tweet, confirming the hounding of the NDTV journalist. He declared that a criminal complaint has been filed against Shiv Aroor.
“Shiv Aroor’s (@ShivAroor) malicious attempt to defame the Indian National Congress & the Leader of Opposition Shri
@RahulGandhi on “India Matters” aired on 19.08.2025, on @ndtv , will not go unanswered. A criminal complaint has been filed, and our lawyer (@EeshaBakshi) will pursue every remedy to the fullest extent of law,” Khera tweeted.
At the time of writing this article, it had been 19 hours since the tweet by the Congress spokesperson. But the Editors Guild of India did not squeak a word in support of Shiv Aroor.
It has maintained strategic silence as usual, showcasing how press freedom and freedom of speech apply only to their ecosystem of lef-liberal ‘journalists’ and ‘activists.’
How Editors Guild rushed to defend Karan Thapar and Siddharth Vardarajan
On Tuesday (19th August), the Editors Guild of India rushed to defend propagandists such as Karan Thapar and Siddharth Vardarajan after being summoned by the Assam police for undermining the sovereignty of India.
“The Editors Guild of India is deeply concerned by media reports that the Assam Police have summoned two senior journalists Mr. Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire, and Mr. Karan Thapar, Consulting Editor of The Wire to Guwahati,” it said in a statement.
The NGO founded in 1978 continued, “The Guild is extremely disturbed by this continuing trend of law enforcement agencies across states registering FIRs against journalists by invoking multiple provisions of the criminal code. This practice effectively muzzles independent journalism, as the very process of responding to notices, summons, and prolonged judicial proceedings becomes a form of punishment.”
The invocation of Section 152 of the BNS is particularly troubling, since it is widely regarded as a repackaged version of the draconian sedition law (Section 124A of the IPC), which the Supreme Court ordered to be kept in abeyance in May 2022 in response to petitions filed by the Guild and others challenging its constitutionality. Rather than meaningfully engage with the concerns raised by the Court, the government reintroduced the provision in broader form under the new law. Section 152 of the BNS now extends beyond speech acts (written or oral) to also include the alleged use of financial means to pursue certain objectives.
The Guild had written to the Home Ministry in July 2024 highlighting these concerns, specifically regarding Section 152 and other provisions that pose a serious risk of misuse against free speech. It had also urged the introduction of procedural safeguards to prevent the arbitrary application of such laws against journalists in the course of their professional work.
While laws must always be respected and upheld, they must not be misused to suppress journalism. The Editors Guild urges the Assam Police to refrain from actions that could cast even the slightest doubt on their true intent. The Guild also takes the opportunity to remind fellow journalists about the importance of pursuing their profession without fear or favour. Honest journalism can never be a crime.
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