India’s news web portal The Wire has written to occupied Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha over his interference in freedom of expression and freedom of the press in the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the letter objected the Sinha’s remarks accusing The Wire’s Kashmiri correspondent Jehangir Ali of being part of some so-called “separatist ecosystem”.
Ali had reported an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ashok Kumar Parmar’s allegations that the IIOJK administration under Sinha rejected the advice of the finance and law departments on the Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojna insurance scheme to amend a multi-crore contract midway to favour a private insurance company.
He also filed a follow-up report which said that despite the administration’s denial of the IAS officer’s claims, several questions about the insurance scheme remain.
At a public event in Jammu on October 14, Sinha “referred to a news item pertaining to AB-PMJAY Sehat Scheme and said writer of the article was himself an active part of separatist ecosystem.”
In the letter, The Wire‘s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan says the “baseless accusation” coming from the LG’s high office could have perilous consequences “for the journalist you are targeting and also for the media more broadly”.
“Among other things, it suggests a willingness on the part of your administration to interfere with freedom of expression and freedom of the press.—KMS
