Randeep Surjewala calls IT raids on Dainik Bhaskar as a cowardly attack on press freedom
Randeep Surjewala called the ruling BJP as a “raid jeevi”, suggesting that the government was using the raids by different agencies to suppress dissent in the country
Randeep Surjewala, General Secretary of Indian National Congress, on Thursday called the present ruling party at the Centre as a “raid jeevi” and described the raids on the Dainik Bhaskar media group as a cowardly attack on press freedom.
Randeep called the ruling BJP as a “raid jeevi”, suggesting that the government was using the raids by different agencies to suppress dissent in the country.
“Raid jeevi ji, Cowardly attack on freedom of press! Income tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar’s Bhopal, Jaipur and Ahmedabad offices now,” the senior Congress leader said.
He further added, “We will not be able to suppress the voice of democracy with ‘Raid Raj’.”
To bring the tweets of Randeep Singh Surjewala in context, it is pertinent to mention here that the Income Tax Department is raiding the Dainik Bhaskar group, the country’s largest media business, in several locations.
According to media reports, raids/search operations are taking place in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal and Indore, Rajasthan’s Jaipur and Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, as well as a few places in Maharashtra.
The promoters’ business and residential properties in Madhya Pradesh are also being searched by IT sleuths.
Reports suggest, however, that the searches are being carried out in response to a tip-off concerning tax fraud by the group.
Interestingly, the Dainik Bhaskar group, headquartered in Madhya Pradesh, is one of the country’s major media conglomerates, with more than 60 editions in a dozen states and many languages.
