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Exclusive Interview: Senior Journalist Barkha Dutt Says Modi Govt & BJP Going After Her, Not Letting Her Work

Dutt: Modi Govt will be responsible if anything happens to me and my family.

By NewsCentral Staff
Source: @BarkhaDutt Facebook page

After announcing on Twitter that she has received chilling threats of surveillance, threats of smear campaigns about her personal life from many in the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an audibly anguished senior journalist Barkha Dutt exclusively spoke to NC24x7 and underlined that the BJP will be responsible if anything happens to her and her family.

“If anything happens to me and my family whether in terms of a smear campaign or any other threat, then the government and BJP will be responsible,” Dutt said.

Dutt left NDTV last year following which she has been working on many projects. However, she claims that it has not been a smooth sail for her.  “Ever since I left NDTV, promoters have been offering me work. But, many back out at the last moment saying the BJP is out to get you and we are being pressurised to not work with you.”

Dutt asserted that she had not spoken so far because she did not want to become the story. She decided to go public today because she was conveyed a message through a friend that “she must abandon the projects she is working on, she and her family are already under surveillance, everything will be done to prevent her from working, including her and her family being buried under false cases.” Dutt claimed that senior BJP leaders have personally told her “aap ye mat kariye ham ye hone nahin denge” [Don’t do this (continue work), we will not let this happen.]

“They warned that they will smear and malign me to stop me from starting any new projects. I was advised to get my house debugged and hire private security,” Dutt said.

When asked, in her long career as a journalist, if she has ever been intimidated in this manner before, Dutt said, “Every government tries to control information. However, the last one and a half year have been unprecedentedly horrible for me. Reports that I am under surveillance are disturbing. If they are true, the govt needs to explain.”

Earlier today, Dutt posted a series of tweets: