Anurag Thakur accuses New York Times of 'spreading lies' about India

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday (March 10) accused New York Times of “spreading lies” about India, calling its opinion piece on the freedom of press in Kashmir as “mischievous and fictitious”.

“New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader tweeted.

“NYT’s so-called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous and fictitious, published with a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India and its democratic institutions and values,” Thakur said.

Also read: India among world’s ‘most dangerous nations for media’: Press Freedom Index

“This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Narendra Modiji. Such lies can’t last long,” the minister said.

Kashmir media

Thakur’s came after the American newspaper published an opinion piece on what it said were curbs on information flow in Kashmir.

“Some foreign media nourishing a grudge against India and our Prime Minister have long been systematically trying to peddle lies about our democracy and pluralistic society,” Thakur went on.

He said freedom of press in India was as sacrosanct as other fundamental rights.

“Democracy in India and … the people are very mature and we don’t need to learn grammar of democracy from such agenda driven media.”

Thakur accused New York Times of spreading “blatant lies” about press freedom in Kashmir.

“Indians will not allow such mindsets to run their decisive agenda on India soil,” he said.

New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT’s so called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous & fictitious published w/ a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India…

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— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 10, 2023