Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien raises the issue of press freedom in Parliament

Hinting perhaps at the goings-on at ABP News, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien raised the issue of press freedom in Parliament today. He said, “Journalists, once they express themselves freely, are being put under pressure that they will lose their jobs. Journalists have to be allowed to be free. This is happening today in one group. Someone does a story, and if someone does not like it, next day they have to leave.”

ABP News Managing Editor Milind Khandekar announced that he quit the channel last night amid speculation of pressure from the management. The channel had recently earned the ire of no less than Cabinet ministers for a news show that didn’t exactly make the Modi government look good. Meanwhile, it’s also been rumoured that anchor Abhisar Sharma was taken off-air for some of his reporting that may have irked the current dispensation. Anchor Punya Prasun Bajpai has also quit this evening. Newslaundry has not been able to ascertain the exact reason for these resignations. A detailed report will follow soon.