Chandigarh, January 31, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded immediate withdrawal of cases registered against journalists who had brought out the truth while covering the ongoing Kisan Andolan under draconian sections like sedition, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government was indulging in dictatorship by throttling the freedom of the press.
In a statement, senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia while condemning the registration of FIRs against around ten journalists said the manner in which intimidatory tactics were being used to muzzle the fourth estate had invoked the memory of Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“All healthy democracies encourage the media to report fearlessly. Many journalists did so during the ongoing Kisan Andolan and brought out the truth behind various acts of repression, especially the near lynching of few Sikh youth recently. It is shocking that instead of ensuring justice in the case; the Delhi Police arrested journalist Mandeep Punia of Caravan who covered the event and packed him off to jail”.
Mr Bikram Majithia said similarly FIRs had been registered against senior journalists including Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod K Jot, Jaffar Aga, Anant Nath and Paresh Nath. He said even the Wire Editor Siddharth Varadarajan had not been spared.
Extending solidarity with the journalists who he said had been unfairly targeted; Mr Majithia said the SAD was ready to offer them free legal aid and all other assistance required by them.
“We are ready to work side by side with them to ensure they secure justice”. He said the very fact that similar cases with the same language and invoking the same sections had been registered in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh spoke volume about the veracity of the claims made in the complaints.
Asking the central government to allow free and fair reporting of the Kisan Andolan, Mr Majithia said popular mass movements could not be crushed in this manner. He said it should also be taken into account that journalists who were covering events on the ground were working in very challenging circumstances to deliver news to the people. “We should not try to discourage the media from reporting the truth to the best of their ability while taking all versions into account”.
