On 21st December (Thursday), Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri came down heavenly on the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A. while speaking on ‘The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill 2023’. The speech in which he reminded the alliance partners of their historical antecedents on “Press Freedom” is doing rounds on the internet.
In the 9 min 24-second video, he described the opposition alliance as “Ghamandiya Gatbandhan” and gave instances when the opposition parties took regressive acts and curbed freedom of the press at a time when it has been projecting itself as the beacon of liberalism and Free Press.
Taking a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bidhuri noted that Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru curtailed press freedom and jailed anyone who dared to criticise the Nehru government. The BJP lawmaker stated that Jawaharlal Nehru brought the Press (Objectionable Matter Act 1951) which however could not be passed. When his government faced criticism, Bidhuri added that Nehru got poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri arrested. The poet had to spend a year in jail for writing a poem critical of Nehru. He inquired Rahul ji is this your freedom of Press?
Further in his address, Ramesh Bidhuri asserted that Kalyan Banerjee besmirched the repute of Parliament by indulging in mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar adding that “Rajkumar (referring to Rahul Gandhi) ji was filming him”. He argued that it was not only an insult to the Vice President and OBC community but also was an insult to the constitution drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar.
Addressing the Lok Sabha members, Bidhuri also highlighted the coercive steps taken against two magazines RSS-backed English magazine Organiser and another English magazine ‘The Cross road’.
He highlighted that the RSS-backed English magazine, Organiser wanted to print the shortcomings and lapses that took place during the partition. However, when it was in print, the East Punjab Safety Act 1951 was framed and the magazine was ordered to get its prior approval from the Nehru government before publishing even a word, the BJP leader added.
Similarly, he likened the developments undertaken by the Nehru government regarding the ban on magazines like Cross Road and Organiser to that of the Saha Bano case that took place decades after under the Rajeev Gandhi government.
Bidhuri noted that the Cross Road magazine was banned in 1953-54, afterwards the editor went to court and secured relief but the Nehru government brought a law in the parliament to continue the ban on the magazine.
Click here to read the details of the cases raked by BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri including all other major violations of press freedom committed by the Congress party.
He added that the Times of India journalist AD Gorwala who was a civil servant wrote a weekly column with the name ‘Vivek’. In his weekly column, Vivek criticised some policies of the Nehru government after which he was banned from publishing any editorial in the newspaper. Notably, A. D. Gorwala also faced hardships during the Indira Gandhi government.
Continuing on the list of Congress’ governments excessive measures against the Press, Bidhuri added that in 1980, the Congress government had arrested editors Ajay Mitra and Guru Sharan Singh of Singhbhum Ekta and Samata respectively. Similarly, Hindustan Times editor BG Varghese was sacked by the publication after he had written critically against Sanjay Gandhi and his pet project Maruti, the BJP leader raked in his address.
He then went on to highlight the recent example of Congress and its alliance partners’ coercive measures against the Press by highlighting the case of Arnab Goswami during the Mahavikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
Bidhuri pointed out that Republic TV Chief Arnab Goswami was jailed and faced hundreds of FIRs after he had questioned Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the Palghar lynching case.
Referring the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as “Baune Duryodhan”, he painted a then-and-now picture of AAP Supremo Kejriwal.
He stated that during his initial days, Kejriwal used to promise that he would bring “democracy and transparency” in the same breath calling Sonia Gandhi corrupt, Sibal is corrupt and Congress is synonymous with corruption.
The BJP leader added that now the AAP Supremo is cradling in the lap of those same people.
Bidhuri further stated that while Kejriwal targeted former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit arguing that the Chief Minister should reside in a two-room house, he himself had built Sheeshmahal in Delhi with over Rs 50 crores, during the COVID crisis.
Slamming the opposition bloc’s claims of championing press freedom, he reminded the Lok Sabha that the AAP government jailed a female journalist, Times Now’s Bhavana Kishore, in Punjab for reporting on these facts under the SC/ST act. The High Court quashed the FIR and her bail was a slap on their faces, Bidhuri added.
In his Lok Sabha speech on the Press Bill, Bidhuri also took a jibe at Kejriwal for skipping the ED summons for the second time recalling that Kejriwal was one who used to say that he would practice transparency but is now running from ED.
Concluding his speech, he asserted that the people of the country bestowed their trust on PM Modi so as to launch a crackdown on those who have been looting from the government coffers like Lalu and mafia elements in UP and Bihar.
He added that I urge the agencies that they should not spare anyone who plunders the resources meant for the poor, irrespective of the ideology they belong to or how prominent they may be.
Bidhuri stressed that when the agencies act against such leaders, they allege misuse of ED. He argued that the Ghamandiya Gatbandhan doesn’t look at its history and track record before making any allegation against the Modi government.