Several prominent citizens and civil society organisations protested against the raids on journalists associated with the online news portal NewsClick and the arrest of its editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha by the Delhi police, at Freedom Park in the city on Thursday.
Arvind Narrain, president of the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) - Karnataka, pointed out that the raids against NewsClick and the arrests mirror those that marked the beginning of the Emergency. “Mr. Purkayastha was arrested during the Emergency, and today under this regime, he is arrested and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” he said. Avani Chokshi, a lawyer representing the All-India Lawyers Association for Justice, said that instead of working towards realising the vision of a welfare state, this government was systematically curbing the fundamental rights of its people.
C.G. Manjula, a senior journalist, said that it was deeply disturbing that journalists were targeted simply for doing their job. She said that independent media outlets and journalists who were speaking about important issues were made to feel vulnerable under the present regime. Anand Sahai, former president of the Press Club of India, said that such attacks on journalists did not even take place under British rule. “This ‘New India’ portrays journalism as terrorism and extremism if journalists are highlighting the struggles of people and failures of the government,” he said.
Press Club expresses concern
The Press Club of Bangalore in a statement said that it was deeply concerned over the raids by the Delhi police on the residences of journalists. “The Press Club of Bangalore urges for an unbiased and fast-tracked investigation in the matter while pushing for all authorities to uphold the freedom of press,” it said.
