RSS' editorial independence

Speaking at a discussion on the protection of media freedom in the Rajya Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tarun Vijay rued the current trend of "ideological untouchability" when it comes to deciding editorial policy. He recalled how when he was editor of the RSS Hindi mouthpiece Panchjanya he had consistently carried pieces by even Congress and CPI (M) leaders. "We have carried articles by Left leaders like D Raja, A B Bardhan as well as by Congressmen Jairam Ramesh and Mani Shankar Aiyar," he said, adding, "While the Panchjanya had its own editorial policy, that did not prevent it from carrying write-ups from those with divergent political views without censoring anything that they wrote." Directly addressing the Congress Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, he reminded him that the Panchjanya had also carried an article by him. Thereafter, Vijay went on to attack the stand taken by some publications flaunting a secular ideology to only carry writings of only those from minority communities.