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Recent IT raids of Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar offices and revelations regarding spyware Pegasus yet again confirm the Narendra Modi government’s extreme allergy to any criticism, said the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) on July 24, 2021.
On Saturday, it voiced concern about the raids on 32 offices of the newspaper and the Uttar Pradesh TV channel, both of which put up critical reports about the Indian government’s handling of the second wave of Covid-19.
Information regarding the surveillance of around 40 Indian journalists using Pegasus is also another example of a series of similar incidents in the past such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids of the Newsclick office and cases lodged against Newslaundry and The Wire reporters last month.
“Let us harbour no illusions: this is an undeclared emergency. The BUJ condemns the Modi government’s efforts to intimidate and suppress critical journalism. We uphold the democratic right of the media to access and disseminate information, without fear or favour,” said BUJ Secretary I. K. Jain in a press release.
He called upon all journalists to unite and strengthen the struggle to protect constitutional rights. Further, Jain appealed that media organisations refrain from violating labour laws and sacrificing journalistic principles for the benefit of narrow partisan agendas and the market.
The BUJ criticised the government for silencing journalists’ voices even when the criticism was based on irrefutable facts. Voicing this as an attack on the freedom of speech and expression, it said, “Disconcertingly, these disquieting developments are unfolding even while the Ruling Party at the Centre enjoys a formidable majority in Parliament. The situation is clearly dire: the deep state in India will not tolerate dissent and democracy in its obsequious obeisance to international finance and its minions.”
Moreover, the organisation condemned the corporate media for its selective lip-service to freedom of expression and citizens’ right to be informed and to dissent. It called upon all media houses to observe its obligation to investigate and disseminate information in public interest.
“This conjunctural window of liberty is now zealously being slammed shut to the applause of a blinded claque, indifferent to the democratic well-being of both citizens and the nation,” said the BUJ.
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