New Delhi, 3 May

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday attacked the BJP-RSS over the issue of press freedom, saying their message is clear that independent journalism will be punished, and compliance rewarded.

He alleged that sections of the media have been reduced to echoing the ruling establishment, while those who persist in asking questions are "targeted relentlessly".

In a post on X on World Press Freedom Day, Kharge said India's position in the World Press Freedom Index has steadily declined since 2014 and alleged that the Sangh Parivar has increasingly "weaponised" legal frameworks to silence newsrooms.

Kharge said the nation must confront a stark and undeniable reality that since 2014, India's position in the World Press Freedom Index has steadily declined, falling to 157th place, under the BJP regime.

"A free press, in its truest sense, does not exist to amplify the government's narrative or conceal its failures. It exists to question authority, to scrutinise power, and to hold those in office accountable," the Congress chief said on X.

Kharge said the media preserves the democratic balance between power and the people.

"Journalists are the custodians of public truth. As Pandit Nehru had said, 'The freedom of the Press is not just a slogan but an essential attribute of the democratic process.' That essential attribute stands gravely compromised under the present regime," Kharge alleged.

"The Sangh Parivar has increasingly weaponised legal frameworks to silence newsrooms. Defamation laws, national security provisions, and sweeping criminal statutes are deployed not as instruments of justice, but as tools of intimidation," he said.

Between 2014 and 2020, over 135 journalists were arrested, detained, or interrogated, he claimed and added that between 2014 and 2023, 36 journalists were imprisoned.

The scale of persecution has risen sharply, with several journalists booked under draconian laws such as the UAPA, he said.

"At the same time, a far more disturbing pattern has emerged, one of violence and impunity. Journalists are being murdered in BJP-ruled states for doing their job," he alleged.

"Raghvendra Bajpai in Uttar Pradesh, Mukesh Chandrakar in Chhattisgarh, Rajeev Pratap Singh in Uttarakhand, and Dharmendra Singh Chauhan in Haryana, each of them was reporting on corruption and issues of public interest. Today, they stand as grim reminders of the cost of speaking truth to power," he said.

Not satisfied with its existing control, the BJP-RSS government, in its quest for total dominance, is now seeking to tighten its stranglehold over social media in an attempt to silence it, he claimed.

"The message of the BJP-RSS is clear: independent journalism will be punished, and compliance will be rewarded. Sections of the media have been reduced to echoing the ruling establishment, while those who persist in asking questions are targeted relentlessly," he alleged.

As we observe, World Press Freedom Day, it is time for deep introspection by all stakeholders, Kharge said.

Most importantly, those in power must always uphold the long-established norms of Democracy, he said.

"Any deviation from these principles, if allowed to persist over time, risks becoming normalised and even accepted, causing lasting damage to democratic norms, values, institutions, and the people they serve," he said.

The government of the day must, therefore, hold itself to the highest possible standards, Kharge asserted.