AAP raiding our press, hotel in abuse of power, spreading fake narrative: Punjab Kesari Group

Chandigarh, Jan 17 (PTI) The Punjab Kesari newspaper group accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of spreading false narratives about it and its promoters on Saturday, days after it claimed that it was being targeted with multiple raids by authorities.

In its fresh statement, the group alleged that the state government had been targeting it to "muzzle" independent reporting.

The AAP or the government were yet to issue a rebuttal to the allegations.

On Thursday, the group wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleging that it was being targeted with multiple raids, events that it said began with a "balanced and fair" news report on the opposition's allegations against Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP's national convenor.

The group alleged these raids were made "with an extraneous motive to intimidate the press." The Punjab government had then rejected the allegation, noting that the claim was "an attempt to deflect attention from serious, recorded violations of law uncovered by multiple statutory authorities acting strictly within their legal mandate." The BJP, Congress, and SAD alleged that the AAP was using the state machinery to muzzle the press.

The Shiromani Akali Dal urged the governor to intervene "to stop the attack on the freedom of the press," while Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma termed the government action "a direct attack on democracy." On Saturday, the newspaper group claimed that the government's scrutiny of the publication had increased since October 31 last year, when the newspaper carried reports about Kejriwal's stay in a state accommodation.

"Immediately after the news, the next few days saw state machinery being misused and delivery of Punjab Kesari and Jag Bani being obstructed. Delivery trucks were stopped so much so that the paper could not be distributed in some parts or deliveries were delayed till evening.

"When people started questioning the action of the Punjab government, in a desperate attempt to cover their misdeeds, a halfhearted and ragtag of an excuse was put forward that the government was checking newspaper delivery vans for drug/weapon smuggling, knowing fully well that it was false," the group alleged.

When these "tactics" did not yield results, the government began applying economic pressure on the group and completely stopped issuing advertisements, it alleged.

The government "fell to a new low after January 9" after the newspaper "fairly" reported on a controversy stemming from a speech of Atishi, the AAP Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, it said.

The statement was signed by Vijay Kumar Chopra, Avinash Chopra, and Amit Chopra.

"On 11, 12, 13 and 14 January, the group's business of presses all over Punjab and one hotel in Jalandhar were subjected to harassment/inspections and reports by different departments," the publication said.

The group alleged snapping of power at a hotel as another power move by the government to harass it, adding that the management has taken legal steps.

The paper claimed that on January 15, nearly one hundred police personnel were sent to its printing press in Jalandhar when the press was closed.

"The locks were broken, and police climbed the walls and beat up the few personnel on site. Allegedly, police presence was for Pollution Control Board to do inspection," it alleged.

"(The) Public can see that the target is not pollution, but the target is freedom of expression," it said.

The group said the government was framing a false narrative that Punjab Kesari is doing the liquor business.

"(The) Chopra family in their ancestral city of Jalandhar have only built the Park Plaza Hotel. The hotel was built in Jalandhar to provide infrastructure for tourism and employment in their hometown," it said.

It also alleged that the authorities cancelled its liquor licences overnight in an abuse of power. PTI CHS VSD VN VN