Journalism has to be independent, free from pressure and influence

Hyderabad, December 10, 2022: I didn't make Aap Ki Adalat,  the longest running show in India's television history to make headlines, says Rajat Sharma, India’s most watched TV Star speaking to members of FLO at Hyatt Place in Banjara Hills on Saturday.
 
Addressing a hall full of FLO(FICCI Ladies Organisation)  members Rajat Sharma said ‘I am not doing show to make headlines’.  ‘I have been working with honesty’ for forty years because people have given me that responsibility. Sincerity in work is bigger than sensation, he added.
 
The show which completed 29 years was not a planned one. It happened in 1993 accidentally. Since then we never looked back, he shared.
 
Mr Rajat Sharma was in conversation with Shubhraa Maheshwari, Chairperson of Hyderabad FLO. Welcoming the gathering she said that the FLO was delighted to host him. Aap Ki Adalat is the platform for inspiration, she added.   
 
Answering a question Mr Sharma said, I don’t see anything wrong in ‘media trail’. But for this trail only many cases were reopened and people got Justice. And he cited a few examples of Nirbhaya, Jessica Lal, including the latest Shraddha incident.
 
Except for one moment in life, I never feared the threats I received. It is a feel-good factor for me to pick up my children from School. Once I went to school to pick up my daughter, it was the day on which Gulshan Kumar was killed. That was when my daughter asked me ‘papa will you stop coming on TV. I am told they kill those who come on TV’. I was taken a back for a moment. Subsequently I overcame that too, he said.
 
There is nothing wrong in hostile takeovers he said responding to a question from
FLO member. They keep happening. The latest incident is Elan Musk taking over Twitter he said.
 
When asked about the media as the fourth pillar and its role, he said the media is a game of trust. I tell my colleagues in our meetings not to tell lies on camera. Viewers will know he said.
 
Answering another question, he said Journalism has to be independent, otherwise it will
Jeopardise democracy. People watch such news channels which are trustworthy, he added.
 
Replying about the future of the newspapers he said a day doesn’t start for older generation without  reading newspapers. The younger generation doesn’t read newspapers much. They depend on digital news, which is not trustworthy. Those who consume digital news are half informed. Those who trust digital news will head for disaster, he said.   
 
Rajat Sharma shared his life and struggle. In the end he urged members to be kind to poor students like him in dire need for support. If you do that, my visit to the city has more meaning to remember, he concluded. More than 200 FLO members turned up for his interaction.
 
Since its inception in the year 1993, Aap Ki Adalat is the longest running show in India's television history and also known for hosting many luminaries composed of politicians, film, sports stars and controversial personalities.  The program has topped both popularity and TRP charts.

Seen FLO members at the session The Fierce Force.