Indian Newspaper Society slams Punjab for blocking newspaper delivery on Nov 2

Chandigarh: The Indian Newspaper Society has expressed serious concern over reports of disruption in newspaper delivery in Punjab on Sunday, apparently due to intensive police checking and detention of vehicles for several hours.

The opposition parties in Punjab sought to corner the AAP dispensation over the incident, terming it an attack on press freedom and people's right to information.

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) said that while law enforcement operations are an essential part of the safety and security of the state, such actions should not hinder newspaper distribution, as readers' access to daily news updates is integral to press freedom and the citizens' Right to Information.

INS Secretary General Mary Paul has urged the Punjab government to take immediate steps to issue necessary instructions to all field officers to ensure smooth and unhindered movement of newspaper delivery vehicles across the state and prevent the recurrence of such disruptions.

Notably, newspaper deliveries were delayed at some places in Punjab on Sunday morning after police conducted vehicle checks, particularly commercial transports, during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

Even though Punjab Police clarified that it undertook checking of vehicles carrying various items following specific intelligence inputs, opposition parties hit out at the AAP government.

In a post on X, Congress veteran Partap Singh Bajwa said, "Raids on newspaper delivery vans across Punjab are a chilling attack on press freedom." Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma termed it "undeclared Emergency" imposed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Punjab, and claimed the AAP government attacked the media as it got "panicked by the Sheesh Mahal 2.0 news".

The BJP last Friday alleged that former Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is being provided a 'Sheesh Mahal' with seven-star facility in Punjab under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's quota, even though the former is neither an elected MLA nor part of the state government.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed the government targeted vehicles carrying newspapers because they do not want anyone writing against them.

A Punjab Police statement on Sunday said the vehicle checks were conducted under the supervision of gazetted officers at selected points in a streamlined and orderly manner without causing any inconvenience to the public.

A police spokesperson had said that Punjab, being a border state, has been facing the brunt of the designs of Pakistan's ISI to bleed India by waging a proxy war through smuggling of contraband, arms and explosives using drones and further transporting them using vehicles.

Anti-national forces have been innovative in changing their modus operandi, and their activities have increased in intensity and efforts after Operation Sindoor, the spokesperson said in the statement.

On reports of delay in newspaper delivery, the spokesperson said, "Due diligence and care would be exercised by Punjab Police to ensure that minimum inconvenience is caused to the public during the conduct of security checks, especially vehicle checks."

At the same time, the need for an active and energetic internal security grid cannot be overemphasised in the present internal security scenario, he had said.

The Chandigarh Press Club had strongly condemned the "police action of stopping vehicles" carrying newspapers in various districts of Punjab.

In several instances, newspaper delivery vehicles were reportedly taken to police stations, leading to undue harassment of the delivery staff and delays in newspaper distribution, the Press Club statement on Sunday had said.

"Reports have been received from districts including Gurdaspur, Patiala, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, and others, where newspaper distribution was either delayed or completely halted.

Such actions are seen as an attack on press freedom and an attempt to control the free flow of information through state machinery," the Chandigarh Press Club said and urged the Punjab government to ensure the unhindered distribution of newspapers.