New Delhi, 25 August, 2026: A fresh press freedom row has erupted after BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi described critical journalists, including India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, as “Dimagi Naxals” or “intellectual Naxals”, accusing them of sympathising with Maoists and encouraging street action over parliamentary debate.
The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Monday (24 August) issued a strong statement taking “strong exception” to Trivedi’s remarks and to a BJP video portraying Sardesai in this light, warning that such rhetoric further shrinks space for independent media in India.
What Trivedi said
At a press conference last week, Trivedi said so‑called “Intellectual Naxals”:
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“sympathised with and provided intellectual support to Naxals on the ground”
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“celebrated the deaths of security personnel”
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“advocated street action rather than seeking solutions through the Parliamentary process”
The Guild’s statement explicitly links these comments to the targeting of Sardesai, a senior consulting editor and anchor at India Today, who has frequently moderated debates featuring government ministers and opposition leaders.
Editors Guild’s rebuttal
In its 24 August statement, the Editors Guild said:
“Rajdeep Sardesai, in his long public career as a journalist and TV anchor, has been objectively presenting and analysing news developments. By no stretch can his actions and utterances be termed those of a ‘Dimagi Naxal’.”
The Guild condemned the BJP’s social media campaign and video as an attempt to vilify journalists, arguing it undermines press freedom and India’s democratic credentials. It also highlighted that India has slipped to 157th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Frontiers.
Background: Sardesai’s controversies
Sardesai has faced multiple controversies in recent years, including:
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A 2019 defamation acquittal in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case after he issued an unconditional apology for a 2007 TV programme that falsely implicated an IPS officer.
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Being taken off air for two weeks by India Today in 2021 after he allegedly wrongly tweeted that a farmer had been “killed in police firing” during the Republic Day tractor rally; he was later booked for sedition along with other journalists.
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A 2025 public apology for a 2011 sting operation that had wrongly accused a former BJP councillor of demanding bribes.
Why it matters
The latest episode underscores the intensifying battle over media narratives in India, with ruling party figures increasingly using charged labels like “Naxal” against journalists they see as hostile. For media professionals, the row raises fresh questions about editorial independence, the safety of critical reporting, and the chilling effect of political vilification on newsrooms.
