New Delhi, August 24, 2026: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has strongly condemned a video circulated through the official social media handles of the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that it seeks to portray journalists questioning the government as “Dimagi Naxal” or “Intellectual Naxal”.
The Guild took particular exception to the targeting of senior journalist and former Editors Guild president Rajdeep Sardesai. It said that BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had, at a press conference, alleged that “Intellectual Naxals” sympathised with or provided intellectual support to Naxals, celebrated the deaths of security personnel and advocated street action instead of solutions through Parliament.
The Editors Guild said Sardesai, an editor with India Today TV and a journalist and television anchor with a long public career, has been engaged in presenting and analysing news developments and that his actions and statements cannot be described as those of a “Dimagi Naxal”.
The Guild said the matter was particularly disturbing because the alleged targeting came from the official social media handles of the ruling party rather than from fringe groups or individuals. It argued that such attacks undermine democratic values and further erode media freedom and the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The Editors Guild also expressed concern over what it described as the increasingly constrained space for independent media in India. It referred to India’s reported ranking of 157th among 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The Guild called upon the BJP’s social media platforms to refrain from portraying media professionals performing their journalistic duties as “public enemies” and said that dissent, scrutiny and questioning of those in power are integral to a democratic process.
The statement was issued by Editors Guild president Sanjay Kapoor and general secretary Raghavan Srinivasan.
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