Hyderabad/New Delhi, Mar 8: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has strongly condemned Attorney General K K Venugopal’s    threat to invoke the archaic and draconian Official Secrets Act, a relic of British colonial rule, against The Hindu for publishing an expose on Rafale deal based on allegedly stolen documents.
In a statement issued today, the IJU President and member of Press Council of India (PCI) Amar Devulapalli and Secretary General Sabina Inderjit said that Attorney General’s warning in    Supreme Court was intended to browbeat the media and working journalists from bringing out skeletons from cupboards of the government. 
“We are appalled to note that such a statement came from the topmost law officer in the country before a bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India. It is a frontal attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of expression. 
We demand that the Attorney General should retract his statement and respect the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution, which he was sworn to protect,” the IJU leaders remarked. The IJU welcomed the statement of N Ram that ‘no power on earth’ could force him and The Hindu from disclosing his source. “We congratulate N Ram and The Hindu for standing up to the power and upholding the highest traditions of independent ethical journalism. 
The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) pledges to stand by them and extend support in their endeavours to be the voice of the people and talk to power,” its President and Secretary General said in press note. IJU Press Release

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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