New Delhi: Vinod Dua, a veteran journalist passed away on Saturday due to post COVID-19 complications at the age of 67. The news was confirmed by his daughter Mallika on her Instagram stories.
Journalist and ex-Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, Balbir Punj expressed grief over the demise of veteran journalist Vinod Dua.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, ‘REMEMBERING #VINODDUA, We lost a well known media personality #VinodDua yesterday. I had known him for over three decades and his untimely demise has left me sad. He was full of life and a karam yogi. However, his ‘journalism’ was obviously shaped by the ideology he believed in. In last years of his life, he sounded more like an urban naxal, not as a journalist in pursuit of truth.’
‘Over the years, #VinodDua’s heavily biased views overshadowed his journalism. He ignored inconvenient facts, or twisted them to suit his narrative. No wonder, in such a scenario, truth was the first casualty. But he couldn’t care less.’ he added
REMEMBERING #VINODDUA@sgurumurthy pic.twitter.com/EWPWlpAlxJ
— Balbir Punj (@balbirpunj) December 5, 2021
‘Can we call #VinodDua a journalist? I am afraid not. He was essentially a political campaigner, wedded to his world view. For him @narendramodi & @RSSorg couldn’t do anything right, and Communists/Jehadies/Evangelists nothing wrong.’ he went to add on.
‘For many #VinodDua was ‘fearless’. He wasn’t. He was a part of establishment. In the post independence India, the ‘Left’ is the establishment. The media and academia are still dominated by this self hating creed. They have the power to set national narrative,’ he further added.
‘Commies, along with British and Jehadies, were responsible for the creation of an Islamic Pakistan. For this ‘Establishment’, Commies are not only super’secular’, they are the ones ‘authorised’, to issue certificates of being Secular/Communal to individuals and organisations’, added Balbir
The 67-year-old journalist, who was a pioneer in broadcast Hindi journalism with stints in Doordarshan and NDTV had lost his wife and Mallika’s mother, Padmavati Dua, aka Chinna Dua, to COVID-19 in June. She was a radiologist.
Vinod and Padmavati had been admitted to a hospital in May after testing positive for the deadly virus. His health has reportedly suffered ever since and he had been in and out of hospitals.
