Political backlash over Kejriwal govt’s ‘defamation order’

Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said she was at a loss as to why Arvind Kejriwal felt the need to do such a thing. “We never thought of doing this. I really don’t know why Kejriwal did it. But then he has a style of his own,” Dikshit said. She said Kejriwal should know that India is a “free country where media enjoys certain freedom”.

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“And then, who defines defamation? During my tenure, if we felt that the press had reported something that is factually incorrect, we wrote articles saying please correct the facts,” Dikshit, who ruled Delhi for 15 years, said.

The BJP accused Kejriwal of hypocrisy. “He talks about unfettered freedom of speech but wants everybody else to be muzzled. This is the height of hypocrisy,” BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said. (Read full story here)

BJP’s Delhi unit president, Satish Upadhyay, said the party will oppose this move and meet Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung in this regard. “The media is responsible enough to know their dos and don’ts. Kejriwal is a dictator for his own party but he cannot be a dictator for the society. We will oppose it. We will talk to the L-G,” Upadhyay said.

Congress leader P C Chacko said the circular shows the “anti-democratic attitude of the chief minister”, while Congress’s Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken said he was wondering why Kejriwal has a problem with the media “as his party came to power with their help”.

According to the circular, issued by Delhi’s Directorate of Information and Publicity Department, if any officer associated with the Delhi government feels that a published or aired news item damages his or the government’s reputation, they should file a complaint with the principal secretary (home).