Scribes protest sedition charge against editor, Loksatta attack

The journalists, who participated in a peaceful protest march, raised slogans like 'Dont Gag the Press' and 'Truth is our Defence'.

Journalists in the capital on Friday protested against the sedition charges slapped against three staffers of the Ahmedabad edition of the Times of India for criticising the city police commissioner and the attack on the residence of Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar.

“We express deep anguish over the surprise action of the Gujarat Police in foisting a case of sedition against the Times of India, its Ahmedabad resident editor and two other staffers and also the attack on the residence of editor of ‘Loksatta’, Kumar Ketkar,” Pushpendra Kulshreshta, Secretary General, Press Club of India, told reporters in New Delhi.

The journalists, who participated in a peaceful protest march, raised slogans like ‘Dont Gag the Press’ and ‘Truth is our Defence’, said that further attack on the fourth democracy would not be tolerated.

They said that media has to come forward if democracy has to be cherished and saved, besides criticising the Gujarat government on the issue.

Later, they also submitted a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil, seeking her intervention in the matter.

“The government should enforce the law to safeguard the fundamental freedoms of the Press,” the memorandum said.

Noting that sedition was a charge slapped on Indian media by erstwhile colonial rulers, the memorandum said that abuse of the provision against the press negates the freedom granted to citizens by the Constitution.

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“Pressing charges of such nature clearly smacks of vindictiveness as the newspaper had carried articles criticising the choice of O P Mathur as the police Commissioner,” Kulshreshta said.