PIB pulls up ‘Deccan Herald’ for satire on Modi’s quote, newspaper says it’s like cartoonist’s art

The Press Facts Bureau chastised English day by day Deccan Herald for applying a statement by Key Minister Narendra Modi in a satirical function, Newslaundry claimed on Tuesday.

On May well 14, Jaideep Bhatnagar, the principal director common of the Press Information and facts Bureau, wrote to the Deccan Herald objecting to British writer CS Lewis’s quotation remaining put future to Modi’s statement in the newspaper’s segment “Speak Out” portion on May possibly 13.

The “Speak Out” is a every day characteristic of that takes advantage of satire or irony to spotlight new statements by public figures by juxtaposing them with quotations from eminent personalities.

In its Could 13 edition, the Deccan Herald had quoted Modi stating: “Last eight years of my services to the country from Delhi (as PM) were being dedicated to great governance and welfare of the poor.” Beneath this, the newspaper posted Lewis’ quotation: “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the excellent of its victims may be the most oppressive.”

The newspaper also listed some conclusions taken by the Modi-led central govt this kind of as the sudden announcement of demonetisation and the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. It also mentioned illustrations of plan failure like the increase in fuel price ranges and the significant stages of unemployment.

Deccan Herald clarifies satire to Push Info Bureau#MediaShothttps://t.co/WveAvv3stJ pic.twitter.com/77voUztVAG

— newslaundry (@newslaundry) Could 17, 2022

What did the PIB allege?

Bhatnagar accused the newspaper of “misleading the readers”. In his letter, he mentioned that though the two rates ended up “surely unrelated”, the Deccan Herald experienced “mischievously and falsely conveyed some sort of contextual congruity”.

He additional, “It has been even further noticed that you have mischievously and intentionally added a list of events to give it a misleading and untrue narrative”.

Reaction from ‘Deccan Herald’

In its response to the PIB, the Deccan Herald claimed that the “Speak Out” section does not report factual information, but is an “irreverent consider on a community figure’s statement of the day, to be regarded in the similar way as a cartoonist’s art”.

The editor of the newspaper additional that the checklist of events referred to by the PIB official produced it clear that the “irreverence/opposition sought to be expressed subjectively is to certain insurance policies and not to the person or office of the key minister”.