The Bhartiya Janata Party on Friday supported the central government's decision to impose a day’s ban on a Hindi news channel for revealing "strategically-sensitive" details while covering the Pathankot terrorist attack, saying the nation comes first and there cannot be any compromise with national security.
"We support the freedom of press in a democracy. But nation comes first and there cannot be any compromise with national security," its National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
The one-day ban over the channel's coverage of Pathankot terror attack drew sharp condemnation from Opposition parties and media bodies which called it "shocking and authoritarian" and reminiscent of Emergency days.
The leaders of the non-BJP parties and the media bodies also demanded immediate withdrawal of the order imposing the blackout on November 9.
An inter-ministerial committee of the Information and Broadcasting ministry in its report said that the broadcaster “NDTV” had revealed "strategically-sensitive" details while covering the Pathankot terrorist attack.
In its reply, the channel said that it was a case of "subjective interpretation" and the most of the information they had put out was already in public domain in print, electronic and social media.
(With PTI inputs)
