November 5, 2020
TED NewsDesk, New Delhi: “He was the father of the nation, but of Pakistan. The country had crores of sons like him, some were worthy, some unworthy,” Anil Saumitra, a little over a year ago, wrote on his Facebook wall about Mahatma Gandhi. He was then, the head of the Madhya Pradesh BJP Media Cell. This had resulted in a controversy, which led to the ruling party suspending his primary membership in May 2019.
Saumitra made it to the news a week back when reports of him being appointed as a professor of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) came out, creating a fresh stir. The government-run media institute, however, was relatively unfazed by it. “The said incident happened in the past. It did not happen after he took charge as an IIMC professor,” said IIMC’s recently appointed Director General Sanjay Dwivedi. “Why should it be a big deal or create a controversy?” he asked, adding that the issue is over.
Saumitra has since refused to comment on the issue. While talking to NDTV after his Facebook post created a controversy, he had said, “Nobody known or unknown has the honour of being the father of India. So Mahatma Gandhi could be the father of the nation but of Pakistan. Everyone is proud to be the son of the Indian motherland.” Before the 2019 incident, he is also responsible for triggering a row in 2013, when the magazine Charaiveti ran an article alleging the church of molesting nuns. Saumitra was the magazine’s editor at that time.
Various IIMC alumni and academics have reportedly criticised the appointment.
Source: Edex Live
