AAP govt using state power to muzzle media, alleges Oppn after Punjab Kesari group claims being targeted

Jalandhar (Punjab), Jan 15 (PTI) Opposition parties in Punjab on Thursday hit out at the AAP government alleging it was using state power to muzzle the press.

The attack came after the Punjab Kesari newspaper group on Thursday wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleging that it was being targeted with multiple raids by enforcement authorities.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa alleged that the ruling AAP is using state power to muzzle the press while BJP state president Sunil Jakhar said he strongly condemns the "attack on media's freedom" and added that a BJP delegation will meet the governor on January 17 in this regard.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal also condemned the alleged action on the newspaper group. "When governments are rattled and the writing on the wall is clearly visible to them, the first institutions that come under attack are the free media and opposition parties that stand for the people," Badal said in a post on X.

The newspaper group on Thursday wrote to Mann alleging that it was being targeted with multiple raids by enforcement authorities, events that it said began with a "balanced and fair" news report on opposition allegations against the ruling AAP's national convenor.

The group alleged these raids targeted it and its associate concerns "with an extraneous motive to intimidate the press".

The Punjab government issued an official statement late evening and categorically rejected the Punjab Kesari group's allegations.

In a post on X, Bajwa said, "From FIRs against journalists to raids and ad blockades, this is a clear pattern. Under @BhagwantMann, the Aam Aadmi Party is using state power to muzzle the press. I stand firmly with @punjabkesari".

Bajwa further said, "As Walter Cronkite said, 'Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy'. The same democracy that gave @ArvindKejriwal and Bhagwant Mann their opportunity is now being strangled." Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said it is "highly outrageous and condemnable that the premier news institution of Punjab, the Punjab Kesari group, has been subjected to such brazen and blatant victimisation intimidation by the AAP Government".

"Hope the Hon Punjab Governor and the Hon Chief Minister take note of this matter on urgent priority. We must not let our media institutions be subjected to brazen intimidation. If this can happen with the Punjab Kesari Group @punjabkesari that is the voice of the masses, one can imagine the plight of the common man in Punjab: The Aam Aadmi," Warring said in a post on X.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also hit out at the AAP government. "After pushing Punjab to the brink of ruin, the AAP government, now terrified by the public anger rising against it, has completely lost its composure. The fear of losing power is so profound that the Punjab government has resorted to intimidating and suppressing the media," Saini said in a post in Hindi on X.

Punjab BJP chief Jakhar claimed that the AAP government wants to silence the voice of independent media.

With their "action" against the newspaper group, Jakhar, in a post on X, said this has proven that this government has "forgotten all democratic norms".

"I strongly condemn this attack on media freedom. Aam Aadmi Party should not make Punjab a police state. A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party will meet the Governor of Punjab on January 17 in this regard," Jakhar said.

Badal said that after "targeting" SAD leaders and workers, the CM and the AAP government "have now launched a brazen assault on press freedom".

"Raids and intimidation tactics are underway against the respected Jalandhar-based Hind Samachar Group,” a media house with a proud history of resilience, values, and ethics.

"Bhagwant Mann is acting exactly like Indira Gandhi did during the Emergency, but he is forgetting that even she couldn't break the will of the Hind Samachar Group (@punjabkesari) and the Chopra family," Badal said in a post on X.

"I unequivocally and in the strongest terms condemn these attacks on the Hind Samachar Group and warn Bhagwant Mann: This reckless path will backfire," he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal, as always, stands firmly for the freedom of the press,” as it is a very important pillar of democracy, he said. PTI SUN VSD KVK KVK