India fumes over 'The Australian', slams headline blaming PM Modi for Covid crisis
By Anish Kumar | First Published Apr 27, 2021, 8:58 AM ISTThe Indian High Commission in Canberra urged the newspaper to publish a rejoinder. It said, "It is astonishing to see your respected publication chose to reproduce a completely baseless, malicious and slanderous article without bothering to check the facts of the case."
India has strongly condemned 'The Australian' newspaper over an article accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of leading India into a 'viral apocalypse'.
The Indian High Commission in Canberra urged the newspaper to publish a rejoinder. It said, "It is astonishing to see your respected publication chose to reproduce a completely baseless, malicious and slanderous article without bothering to check the facts of the case."
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Addressed to 'The Australian' Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore, the letter undersigned by Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Canberra, PS Karthigeyan, said: "It appears that the article has been written only to undermine the universally-acclaimed approach taken by the government of India to fight against the deadly global pandemic, at this decisive moment."
The letter also mentioned that the Indian government took several steps to contain the virus.
"Massive upgrade in diagnostics (1.7 million tests on April 25) and treatment facilities have been undertaken in a record time, which have saved hundreds of millions of lives and have been praised by the global community," it said.
The High Commission also called 'The Australian' to publish a rejoinder to set the record straight and also 'refrain from publishing such baseless articles in future'.
It also accused the newspaper's coverage of India's Covid crisis as 'motivated and malicious reports helping spread falsehoods'.
The article was initially published in 'The Times' on April 25. It was then reproduced in 'The Australian' with the title, 'Modi leads India into a viral apocalypse'.
As per the Union Health Ministry data, India has registered over 3.52 lakh Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking the total cases at 17,313,163. A total of 2812 people died in a single day, reaching the death toll of 1,95,123.
NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona.
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