Workers of the Indian Overseas Congress may have violated his rights under the First Amendment that protects freedom of the press in the US by allegedly mistreating an Indian journalist in Dallas, the National Press Club (NPC) here said today.
A Washington-based television journalist, Rohit Sharma, was last week allegedly manhandled by a group while on assignment for the India Today group in Dallas, Texas, to cover Rahul Gandhi's maiden US visit as the Leader of Opposition.
Sharma was interviewing Sam Pitroda, a close aide of Gandhi, when the incident happened. Sharma claimed that he was given a abrupt instruction to conclude the interview.
The president of the National Press Club, Emily Wilkins, released the following statement on Monday regarding the incident. "The NPC respects right to record her interview, should that be the case, and notes, however, she has remained a member of the National Press Club for that time and may be subject to the club's rules, although the NPC does not take positions on its members' rights or privileges".
"Security personnel need to know that journalists, including the one working here in the US, are covered by the First Amendment, regardless of where the interviewee might be from or who the reporter is or who the security details are. This was an on-the-record interview with ground rules established between Sharma and Pitroda," Wilkins said.
"Several members of the Indian Overseas Congress were listening to the interview, as well as several members of Gandhi's advance staff. On the last question, members of the audience objected to the subject of the question and stopped the interview by shouting at Sharma and pushing him while taking his phone away. The group, which included Gandhi's staff, deleted files from Sharma's phone and kept it from him," the NPC president said.
The statement added that Pitroda later apologized to the reporter.
With more than 2,500 members representing nearly every major news organization, the NPC is a leading voice for press freedom in the US and worldwide.
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