Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has refused to attend a Network 18 conclave over News18 India’s coverage of the Haryana communal violence, according to sources in the CM’s office.

The state Congress unit claimed that the party decided to boycott the Rising Chhattisgarh conclave, organised by News18 MP Chhattisgarh in Raipur, over News18 India anchor Aman Chopra’s remarks.

Baghel’s Congress colleague Nand Kumar Sai, meanwhile, was found present at the event. But Congress’s Chhattisgarh spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla insisted that Sai had ended up at the conclave due to a “communication gap”. “He has joined Congress from the BJP…the message reached him late.”

While there has been a buzz that the conclave was sponsored by the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, senior officials at the state’s Directorate of Information and Public Relations denied the same.

Amid violence in Haryana, News18 India anchors had grilled Nuh’s Meo Muslims, the police and the administration for the roles they played. Aman Chopra, a senior editor and anchor with News18 India, had questioned the absence of a “permanent solution” for “stone-pelters”. He has earlier been fined several times by the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority over his shows. 

Watch this week’s Newsance to understand how News18 India shows have earlier stoked communal fires.

Baghel’s office has not issued a statement on his absence at the event – he attended an NDTV conclave in Raipur the same day. Newslaundry reached out to the head of communications at Network 18 for comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.

Meanwhile, News18 MP Chhattisgarh said that Kunal Shukla, a “senior Congress leader”, also attended the Rising Chhattisgarh conclave on Monday. 

However, Sushil Anand Shukla said that Kunal Shukla is “not even a primary member”. “He held a position in the Youth Congress around 20 years ago…no Congress party leader or spokesperson went to the conclave. Our stand is clear. Bhupesh Baghel is our leader…his stand is also the party’s stand.”

It’s not the first time that leaders from the Congress have objected to Aman Chopra.

Last year, the Congress had announced that none of its spokespersons will appear on News18 India anchor Aman Chopra’s show in order to prevent “the spread of poison in the society”. 

Chopra’s show was fined earlier this year by the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority for vilifying the Muslim community. In its order, NBDSA held that News18 India’s Aman Chopra “targeted, vilified and castigated the entire Muslim community for the actions of a few miscreants” at a garba event in Ahmedabad.

Last year, too, NBDSA imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on News18 India and directed the channel to take down a show by anchor Aman Chopra on Karnataka’s hijab ban. The authority had said Chopra had acted in “flagrant disrespect” of the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and “advised to guide and train its anchor on how to conduct debates on such sensitive issues”.

Update at 11.30 pm, August 7: Rising Chhattisgarh was not organised by News18 India but by News18 MP Chhattisgarh. The error has been corrected.