Haryana minister Anil Vij slams AAP govt in Punjab for 'muzzling' media

Chandigarh, Jan 16 (PTI) Haryana Energy and Transport Minister Anil Vij on Friday accused Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab of "muzzling" the media following claims by the Punjab Kesari newspaper group that it was being targeted with multiple raids by enforcement authorities.

The senior BJP leader alleged that the Bhagwant Mann dispensation is attacking the "Punjab Kesari" group and its associated institutions without any basis.

Vij said the state government's actions indicate that an "emergency" has been imposed in Punjab.

The newspaper group wrote to Chief Minister Mann on Thursday, alleging that intimidation through raids.

The group claimed the actions began after it published a "balanced and fair" report on opposition allegations against the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener. The group alleged that these raids, targeting it and its associates, were carried out "with an extraneous motive to intimidate the press".

The Punjab government issued a statement late Thursday evening categorically rejecting these allegations.

Former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda described the "attempts to intimidate" the media group as "highly concerning".

He noted that simultaneous raids, licence cancellations and power supply disconnections appeared to be a "direct and dangerous attack" on the fourth pillar of democracy under a "well-planned conspiracy".

"All such actions to crush independent journalism are fatal for the democratic system," Hooda, who is also Leader of Opposition in Haryana, said.

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi also condemned the "systematic misuse of state machinery" to intimidate the media. Channi said such actions weaken the foundations of the democratic system and set a dangerous precedent.

Punjab BJP Working president Ashwani Sharma termed the government's action a "direct attack on democracy" that exposed a "dictatorial mindset" of the party. He said the AAP government was making a "shameful attempt" to stifle the media to suppress news published against it.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the AAP government has taken "intimidation of the media to a new level". She added that raids were conducted on the group's printing presses as well as a hotel owned by the media family.

Badal expresses solidarity with the newspaper group and condemned what she called an "undeclared emergency" against the media. PTI SUN VSD HIG AKY AKY