BJP alleges “attack on press freedom” after police visit to reporter’s home
Hyderabad: BJP Telangana president N. Ramchander Rao has slammed the Congress‑led state government, accusing it of displaying an “emergency mindset” after Telangana police were reportedly sent to the Ghaziabad residence of DD News journalist Ashok Shrivastava late Saturday, Press Freedom Day. Rao termed the move an “attack on press freedom and democratic dissent.”
“From the first amendment to the dark days of the Emergency, and now this intimidation of a senior journalist, the Congress has repeatedly shown its instinct to curb free voices, especially journalists’ voices and silence the press whenever questioned,” Rao alleged, charging that the party has a history of discouraging dissent. He said the incident was not just an attack on one journalist, but a “chilling message” to the entire media fraternity.
The BJP leader also questioned the Congress’s right to lecture the country on the Constitution, democracy and freedom of expression. He called the late‑night police action at the journalist’s residence a “symbol of Congress intolerance” rather than a genuine law‑and‑order exercise.
