AAP Government Following Congress-Like Authoritarian

Hoshiarpur/Nov 3 /Daljeet Ajnoha :  Former Cabinet Minister and senior BJP leader Tikshan Sood has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of launching a systematic attack on press freedom, reminiscent of the Emergency era under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.In a press statement issued here, Sud alleged that the Mann government has adopted a policy of coercion by linking government advertisements to favorable media coverage. He claimed that the government has placed loyalists in key monitoring roles within media institutions to keep watch over editorial content. Media houses that question or criticize the state government are allegedly being threatened and face arbitrary cuts in government advertising.Recalling the dark days of the Emergency, Sood said that newspapers opposing Indira Gandhi’s rule were subjected to intimidation and suppression. He cited Punjab Kesari newspaper’s example, which, during the Emergency, had to run its printing press using power generated by a tractor after its electricity supply was cut off by the government.Sood further stated that, in a recent move, the Mann administration illegally detained vehicles distributing newspapers across Punjab, allegedly to censor reports covering Swati Maliwal’s accusation that the Punjab government built a luxury “Sheesh Mahal” residence in Chandigarh for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. According to Sood, this action was intended to send a strong warning to media outlets against publishing stories critical of the government and to prevent the public from reading such reports.Calling the move an undeclared Emergency, Sood said that the Mann government’s actions amount to a grave violation of democratic rights and an assault on the fourth pillar of democracy — the free press. He added that just as the Congress party faced the consequences of similar behavior in the past, the people of Punjab will soon teach the AAP government a similar lesson.