AAP trying to muzzle voice of media in Punjab: Sukhbir Badal
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 May, 2023 10:13 AM
Chandigarh, May 26 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Friday accused the AAP government in Punjab of trying to muzzle the voice of media ever since it assumed power.
"The government has registered false cases against journalists besides banning web channels and even stopping advertisements to publications which refused to relay its propaganda," he said.
"It has also proceeded against artists, academicians and intellectuals. The SAD will do its utmost to guard the freedom of the press and democratic values and warns the AAP government not to trample upon civil rights in this manner."
Reacting to summoning of Managing Editor of the Ajit newspaper, Barjinder Singh Hamdard, Badal said the act of summoning of Hamdard by the state Vigilance Bureau was a "brazen act of a power drunk Chief Minister who wanted to exact revenge against the him for his principled stand on freedom of the press".
In a statement here, the SAD President expressed solidarity with Hamdard and said the Akali Dal would do its utmost to defend the voice of the media in Punjab.
Asserting that the intimidation of Hamdard had shocked Punjabis worldwide, Badal said the Chief Minister first stopped advertisements to the Ajit newspaper. "Then it started intimidating functionaries of the Ajit and now it has stooped down to persecuting its Managing Director. This is the height of vendetta politics and is totally unacceptable in a democracy."
According to police, a group of masked robbers infiltrated the residence of the victim, who is involved in the paper trading business and is the son of a contractor, in Ashok Vihar early Saturday morning by cutting through window grills.
The NCB, led by its then Mumbai head Sameer Wankhede, had on October 2, 2021, carried out a high-profile raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai harbour and arrested 20 persons, including Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan.
The ED has alleged that Sisodia was the mastermind behind the entire excise policy case and that he had deliberately leaked the policy to the co-accused to generate financial kickbacks. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.
Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the Chitti Bein in Simbli in Hoshiarpur district, the Chief Minister said Punjab is a sacred land of great Gurus and saints, who have shown the way to preserve the environment. He said, following in the footsteps of the Gurus, the government would soon embark upon a campaign to preserve the natural resources of the state.
A portion of the perimeter wall, extending upto 15 feet, near gate number 27 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport crashed down on Sunday, leading to security concerns, officials said here on Monday.
The arrested has been identified as Gurbhej Singh of Tarn Taran. He has a criminal background and had recently been released from Goindwal Sahib Central Jail. Police have also named Sukhdeep Singh, Lakhbir Singh, Satnam Singh, Yadwinder Singh, and Baaghi Singh in the FIR.
