Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that he feels like “slapping” “self-proclaimed journalists” who turn up at press conferences with an “arrogant” demeanour. 

Revanth said that credible, qualified journalists must come together to formulate a definition for the work of a journalist, to separate themselves from people without relevant qualifications who work for certain political parties and use abusive language against politicians while calling themselves journalists. 

He was speaking at the tenth anniversary celebrations of Nava Telangana, a Telugu daily backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday, August 1. 

“About 15 years ago when I first became an MLA, senior journalists were shown respect and offered the front row seats by their juniors at press conferences... But I don’t see that anymore. Young journalists don’t respect senior journalists who've spent all their lives analysing and researching peoples’ issues. They come and sit in the front row arrogantly with their legs crossed, as if looking down upon us and trying to assert dominance, looking us in the eyes as if they expect us to salute and bow our heads. I feel like going down and slapping them, but circumstances and status come in the way,” Revanth said. 

He said that while political parties published their own newspapers in the past to spread their ideological beliefs, these days, some parties were using media platforms to “hide their wrongdoings, protect their wealth, and abuse and defame those who question them.”

Earlier in March, following the arrest of two journalists—Revathi Pogadadanda and Thanvi Yadav—for sharing a clip of a farmer abusing Revanth Reddy, his mother, and the Telangana Congress, CM Revanth had threatened to “strip” and “parade” those who use abusive language against his family in the name of political criticism. 

Repeating his suggestion from back then, Revanth said credible journalists must come together to define the word ‘journalist’.

“These days, people who roam around joblessly and abuse people are on social media in the guise of journalists… I request journalists to differentiate and make them sit separately (at press conferences),” he said. 

“At a time when political leaders’ statements are losing trustworthiness, journalists are also rapidly losing credibility… Allowing this to continue is dangerous not just for the press but also for Telangana society and national security,” Revanth added. 

He said that people often ask him about political leaders themselves also using abusive language. “I don’t have an answer for that,” he said.

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