Kohima: The Editors Guild of India fired back at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party this week. The Guild condemned the BJP for using official social media accounts to smear journalists as public enemies. Their primary gripe centers on the party labeling veteran India Today TV anchor and former EGI president Rajdeep Sardesai as a Dimagi Naxal, or intellectual Naxal.
This is not coming from fringe agitators. It stems from the ruling party itself. The Guild argues this behavior trashes democratic values and stifles the constitutional right to free speech. They pointed to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, where India sits at 157th out of 180 nations, as evidence of a shrinking space for the press.
The controversy traces back to August 15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term Dimagi Naxal in a speech, triggering a political brawl. Congress leader P. Chidambaram jumped into the fray, stating, “proud to be a dimagi Naxal” in response. The BJP quickly hit back at the former home minister, claiming his support for the label proved exactly how the UPA government was run.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi defended the rhetoric during a press conference. He claimed intellectual Naxals celebrate the deaths of security personnel and push for street protests rather than parliamentary solutions. The EGI rejects this characterization for Sardesai. They maintain his career is built on objective reporting and analysis. The Guild is now demanding the BJP stop painting reporters as enemies of the state, reminding the party that scrutiny is the backbone of a functioning democracy.
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