Editor moves court for govt ads

The hearing in this case has been posted for February 11. The state government has deputed the state Advocate General to personally appear in the High Court on its behalf.

Mahesh Desai,the proprietor and editor of the Gujarati daily,Bindu,published from Ahmedabad,has contented in his petition that he was being “victimised by politicians whose interests were hurt.”

In a bid to back his claim,Desai has produced in the court a letter written in 2003 to Chief Minister Narendra Modi by the then Rajya Sabha member and Gujarat BJP General Secretary,Jayantilal Barot.

The letter on Barot’s official letterhead,a copy of which is with The Indian Express,says: “.…The representation of Shri Maheshbhai Desai,Editor of the Ahmedabad-based daily,Bindu,is attached with this. The daily is associated with our party. We have stopped giving advertisements to this daily because of a special edition published during the Rajkot by-election. Now that he is willing to do penance for his mistake,I do recommend to forgive him and to do the needful about releasing advertisements to him again….’’

Desai’s newspaper had published a special edition in 2002,which was not in favour of the then BJP government – more particularly CM Narendra Modi,who was then contesting in the Rajkot bypoll. It had consisted of published reports and articles culled from different newspapers.

Desai’s lawyer Hasmukh Patel said the state government first stopped publication of the newspaper on “technical grounds”.

Desai won a legal battle to resume publication at the Press and Registration Appellate Board. But,subsequently,the state government stopped providing ads to the newspaper. Desai’s petition also lists the Secretary (Information and Broadcasting) and Director & Dy Director (Information Department) as respondents.