Midday meal report: Editors Guild slams UP govt over FIR against journalist

NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for booking a local journalist over his report about government school students consuming rotis with salt as part of Centre’s midday meal scheme.
The Yogi Adityanath government has booked a case of criminal conspiracy against Pawan Jaiswal in Mirzapur, eight days after he filmed a video showing government school students in Siyuer village squatted on the floor of the corridor, eating rotis with salt.
"It is a cruel and classic case of shooting the messenger. It is precisely exposés such as these that show how valuable free and fearless journalists are to a democratic society," the Guild said in a statement.
The Guild expressed shock that instead of taking action to fix what is wrong on the ground, the government filed criminal cases against the journalist.

"Even if the government believes that his report is wrong, there are easy and conventional redresses available/ Using the IPC and police is no way to respond to this," it said.
It further urged the state government to withdraw the cases against Jaiswal and ensure that he is not subjected to further harm or harassment.
The three-page FIR states that Jaiswal allegedly colluded with a village panchayat head Rajkumar, who should have arranged for vegetables for the kitchen instead of going to the press.
Jaiswal, however, denied the allegations. "This is against journalism. You can see the news and verify it," he told a television channel. "Nothing is being created. I had told everything (to officials)."