Controversial Zee News anchor Sudhir Chaudhary has issued an extraordinary statement saying that he is not an Islamophobe. A few days ago a princess of the UAE called him an ‘intolerant terrorist’.
Sharing his statement, Chaudhary tweeted, ‘My name is Sudhir Chaudhary and I’m not an #Islamophobe. Some communal forces use the tag of islamophobia to target others in the name of religion. My Abu Dhabi experience is proof.”
A major controversy erupted after Chaudhary was invited by the Abu Dhabi Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India as a speaker at its event. Despite the persistence of the UAE Princess to turn down his invitation, the organizers refused to do so. Neeraj Ritolia, chairman of the Abu Dhabi chapter of ICAI, had given a thumbs down to a member of the UAE’s royal family.
Chaudhary said in his statement, “It is with a very heavy heart that I share a recent experience with you. I was invited to speak at an event in Abu Dhabi. Just days before the event, some blue-ticked handles led by “princess” & wannabe blogger started browbeating and threatening the organisers. They called me an Islamophobe, and a terrorist. They tried to make the atmosphere in Abu Dhabi communally charged against me. I was abused and threatened on social media.”
He further added, “Then they spread fake news about my participation being cancelled. Some media outfits in India amplified their propaganda and lies without any fact-checking. They declared that I’d been barred from speaking at the event.”
Terming his critics wrong, Chaudhary said that not only did he go to Abu Dhabi, but he also spoke his ‘heart out’. “This is despite pressure, intimidation tactics, life threatening emails and coordinated trolling, that did not even spare other guests and sponsors. They were told to pull out from the event or stop me from speaking. They had to arrange for security to prevent any untoward incident.”
Chaudhary has been accused of promoting Islamophobia by using his TV channels on a regular basis. In his statement, Chaudhary failed to explain why the allegations of Islamophobia against him are false.