handigarh, July 22 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday condemned the Income Tax raids on media outlets, saying the latter were being persecuted for exposing the NDA government's "mismanagement" of the Covid-19 pandemic, besides asking tough questions on the Union government's surveillance on politicians, journalists and activists through Pegasus spyware.
In a statement here, Badal said it was condemnable that the NDA government had targeted Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and the Bharat Samachar group because they had posed tough questions to the government in keeping with high standards of journalism.
"The Union Government should not try to muzzle the freedom of the press in this manner. The SAD stands resolutely in solidarity with the media in this hour of crisis."
Badal said the Centre should respond positively to criticism on sensitive issues like Covid-19 mismanagement as they reflected the sentiments of the citizens of the country.
He said Dainik Bhaskar had exposed the manner in which the pandemic was mishandled both by the Centre as well as several states. "It had also covered the surveillance of several politicians as well as journalists and activists through Pegasus spyware extensively which was probably not to the liking of the NDA government."
Badal said it had also come to light that even employees of Dainik Bhaskar had been victimised with the mobiles of employees present in offices being seized and night shift workers being barred from leaving the office. This kind of persecution of the fourth estate does not bode well for a democracy, he added.
Asking the NDA government to bring about a course correction in its functioning, the SAD President said the government was also following a "vindictive approach" towards farmers and the Kisan Andolan solely because the latter had questioned its policies.
"Farmers have rightly questioned the logic behind bringing in the three agricultural laws which help only the corporations and will result in the corporatisation of agriculture in the country. Instead of listening to the farmers and resolving their grievances, the Centre is adopting an intransigent attitude towards them."
He also questioned the logic of Union Agriculture Minister Narender Singh Tomar in saying that the government was open for talks with farmers after clearly stating that the three 'black' laws would not be repealed.
"The government should repeal the three agricultural laws first," he added.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General M.M. Naravane, reached Kashmir on Wednesday on a two-day visit to review the prevailing security situation in the Union Territory (UT), the army said in a statement.
"There have been several unfounded media reports that have peddled misinformation among the masses regarding this exercise of national importance," a ministry statement said, adding that the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far stand at 21,85,46,667.
The Congress said that it was "appropriate for our initial statement to note that the intrusion by Israeli forces into the Holy Al Aqsa mosque during Ramzan prayers had ruptured the delicate peace in the region".
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suggested the young patients should be prioritised in the distribution of Liposomal Amphotericin B drug, used for treating black fungus, "as they hold promise of future over the older ones who have lived their lives".
Giving information about the cases of black fungus, Kejriwal said nearly 944 cases of black fungus have been reported in Delhi, of these nearly 300 patients are being treated in various Central government-run hospitals here.
