Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Yogi Adityanath government for the arrests of three journalists in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly broadcasting content defaming him.
If every journalist who files a false report or peddles fake, vicious RSS/BJP sponsored propaganda about me is put in jail, most newspapers/ news channels would face a severe staff shortage.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 11, 2019
The UP CM is behaving foolishly & needs to release the arrested journalists. https://t.co/KtHXUXbgKS
On Saturday, freelance journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested from Delhi. Ishika Singh, head of news channel Nation Live, and its editor, Anuj Shukla, were arrested on the same day. All three were accused of defaming Adityanath. Nation Live telecast a debate on June 6 in which a woman allegedly made defamatory statements against Adityanath, while Kanojia shared a video of woman claiming she had sent a marriage proposal to the chief minister.
On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh Police sealed the office of Nation Live in Noida and the district administration reported the issue to the ministry of information and broadcasting, claiming the channel was operating illegally.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul wrote, “If every journalist who files a false report or peddles fake, vicious RSS/BJP sponsored propaganda about me is put in jail, most newspapers/news channels would face a severe staff shortage. The UP CM is behaving foolishly & needs to release the arrested journalists.”
Rahul had complained in recent years that many media outlets had been unfairly critical of him.
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The Congress had criticised the arrest of the three journalists on Monday, tweeting, “Detaining a journalist for sharing a video that presents a state official in poor light is illegal & arbitrary and violates the principles our nation is founded on.” The Congress, in its campaign for the recent Lok Sabha polls, had criticised the alleged intolerance to dissent shown by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
In its manifesto, the Congress had promised to repeal the criminal defamation law.
The arrest of Kanojia had triggered criticism of the Adityanath government, with the Editors Guild terming it a “brazen misuse of law” and alleging it was an effort to intimidate the press and stifle freedom of expression. The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up a petition filed by Kanojia's wife against his arrest on Tuesday.
