People's Democracy

THE Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has, in a statement, strongly disapproved the questionable methods used to uncover corruption in the corridors of power. "Using female sex workers as a means to get information is against all the accepted norms of journalism and amounts to the use of women as commodities to be exchanged for information," the DUJ said.

However, the DUJ said this does not absolve the prominent politicians and officials from the charges of corruption that the Tehelka investigations have so dramatically exposed.

The unconventional methods used by the journalists concerned to uncover the "defence scam" is being sought to be used by the political establishment to browbeat the fourth estate, the statement issued by DUJ president S K Pande and general secretary Javed Faridi said.

The DUJ urged all media professionals to exercise due diligence while pursuing sensitive stories so that genuine investigative journalism does not become a casualty of the government’s machinations.

THE Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has condemned as "ominous" the arrest of the editor of Majdoor Morcha at Faridabad recently.

The arrest smacks of vendetta, the DUJ said, and called for his immediate release and action against the officials involved. The DUJ demanded that the Press Council send a fact-finding team to Faridabad at the earliest.

Terming the arrest as a variety of McArthyism, the DUJ called for an end to the continuing attempts to prevent journalists from doing their duty.