Hyderabad: Additional secretary to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Smita Sabharwal rejected Outlook magazine’s regrets on its snippet titled ‘No Boring Babu’, against her.
“I don’t treat this as an apology. It is nothing close to the apology I have sought. They cannot tarnish the image and tender regrets in this manner. Legal action will continue,” she told Deccan Chronicle.
Outlook magazine put up a regret note on its website and also requested the Telangana DGP to protect its correspondent from threats.
The snippet titled No Boring Babu, published in the Deep Throat column attracted plenty of criticism since its publication in the July 6, 2015.
“Even though it did not cite names or specifics, newspapers, TV news channels and websites have carried news of a legal notice purportedly issued by a bureaucrat in TS. However, Outlook is still to receive it 36 hours since the media blitz was launched,” the magazine said.
On social media, the magazine’s correspondent in Hyderabad has been subjected to vile and personal attacks, and her physical safety has been threatened, it added.
“Outlook wishes to clarify that the said piece was part of a satire carried in the magazine in the usual course, was not intended to be derisive or derogatory, and was meant to be received in a lighter vein. That said, being conscious of sensitivities, Outlook has taken down the satirical piece. Outlook expresses regret if any offence has been taken,” it added.
