'One more surgical strike': Twitterati respond to Modi govt's NDTV ban

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in an unusual move, has imposed a ban on NDTV India for a day for allegedly revealing “strategically-sensitive information” during the course of its coverage of the anti-terror operations at the Pathankot airbase earlier this year.

As the news spread, #NDTVBanned became the number one Twitter trend on Twitter.  While some cheered and approved the government's first-of-its-kind order, others criticized the decision, terming it bias and un-democratic.
 

#NDTVBanned trends on Twitter

One Twitter user's tongue-in-cheek reaction to NDTV's ban was "Sources has confirmed that #NDTVBanned is a government way to pay tribute to Arnab Goswami farewell".

Several others said "India has conducted one more surgical strike  #Terrorist. #NDTVBanned".

NDTV received sympathy too. 

In response to I&B Ministry's ban, NDTV responded, "It was a case of “subjective interpretation” and that most of the information they had put out was already in public domain in print, electronic and social media."

The committee’s order, dated November 2, refers to NDTV’s news telecast on January 4, 2016, while counter operations by the security forces were still on at the Pathankot airbase.

The telecast, the order states, referred to the “ammunition stockpiled in the airbase, MiGs, fighter planes, rocket launchers, mortars, helicopters, fuel tanks which was likely to be used by the terrorists themselves. 

The order mentions that the channel also gave out details of schools and residential areas located at the airbase, endangering the lives of civilians.