Senior journalist Barkha Dutt, who is a contributing editor with THE WEEK, on Thursday posted a series of tweets alleging she had received threats from people linked to the Narendra Modi government who wanted to prevent her from working in the TV news field.
In one tweet, Dutt wrote, “Received chilling veiled threats and 'messages' from powerful people in the Establishment today that my family and I are under surveillance.”
In another post, Dutt claimed, “Over the last few months those associated with the ruling party - politely, impolitely - have warned me not to work on new TV projects and told me - 'we will never allow them to happen'.” She alleged a meeting had been held to stop her media work and malign her reputation.
In another tweet, Dutt alleged she was “told to hire private security & get my house debugged. I suppose i should be ready for phone taps, IT cases, ED raids, death threats.”
Dutt tagged Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in a tweet, urging him to take note of her allegations.
Dutt has been a frequent target of rightwing ire on social media for her purportedly liberal stance on various issues.
In recent weeks, two other high-profile journalists have complained about receiving threats from rightwing groups for their criticism of the Modi government. Rana Ayyub, who has authored a book on the Gujarat riots, has alleged receiving hate messages, including rape threats; a group of UN experts on May 24 called on the government to ensure Ayyub's security following the threats.
Ravish Kumar, a prominent anchor with NDTV, claimed he has been receiving an increasing number of threats. He alleged the police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have not acted on repeated complaints from him.