Punjab politics is currently heated. Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu addressed the press today to protest the action being taken by the Aam Aadmi Party government against the Punjab Kesari Group. During the meeting, Ravneet Bittu said that the Punjab Kesari Group remained undeterred by AK-47 rifles and bombs even during the worst times of terrorism, so how could it be afraid of this Aam Aadmi Party government? Even bullets couldn’t stop his pen. What will these people stop him?
Punjab Kesari alone is enough to fight this battle. Furthermore, the Punjab Kesari group isn’t like wax that will melt and be cowed by government threats. Then they’ll drink tea and kneel. Speaking of Babuji (Vijay Kumar Chopra) and Avinash Chopra, the Punjab Kesari group’s members, they represent a family that hasn’t been intimidated by AK-47 bullets. How can the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stop their writing? He emphasized that the Punjab Kesari newspaper has always brought the truth to the people. Bittu alleged that the AAP government in Punjab is currently trying to suppress the media. Ravneet Bittu clarified that the Punjab Kesari newspaper has never been intimidated and will never back down.
BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu tweeted yesterday, strongly condemning the direct attacks being launched by Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the Jagbani and Punjab Kesari media groups. He said that this open attempt to intimidate the media is tantamount to an undeclared emergency imposed by the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab. He stated that such attacks on press freedom are unacceptable in any democracy. He said that a free and fearless media is a strong foundation of democracy, but the current government is using its power to suppress the media’s voice, which is highly condemnable. Bittu warned that such authoritarian policies will be strongly opposed at every level.
It should be noted that the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab has been attempting to suppress the voice of the Punjab Kesari group for several days. The Congress, Akali Dal, BJP, and all other opposition parties have strongly criticized the government agencies’ actions against the prestigious media organization, Punjab Kesari. The opposition parties have termed this action an undeclared emergency in Punjab.
It should also be noted that, in a similar incident, the police raided the group’s Bathinda printing press today, detaining some employees. Others were beaten and injured, and are currently admitted to the Bathinda Civil Hospital. At the Suranussi printing press in Jalandhar, senior officials and employees of the Pollution Control Board, accompanied by police, forcibly entered the printing press by jumping over the wall and assaulted newspaper employees. The senior officials, along with the police, broke the gate lock from inside, forcibly collected samples, and detained one person. These officials arrived without notice and without any information, claiming they had orders from higher authorities. In this regard, the Punjab Kesari management has sent a written report to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, detailing the government’s handling of the attacks on the press. According to the management, “We are writing this letter to express our deep concern and anguish over recent developments.”