CBI raid on NDTV founder 'vindictiveness', says Congress

The Congress party on Monday termed the CBI raids on NDTV founder Prannoy Roy's residence as "vindictiveness" and an attack on the freedom of media.

"The timing is very important here. Two days back, there was a discussion on the channel on the issue of beef ban notification, in which the national spokesperson of BJP tried to misbehave with the anchor of NDTV. Just two days after this there is a raid on them," said senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken.

"If this is not vindictiveness, then what is this?" he asked.

"We want to warn the government and wish to tell them to refrain from suppressing the voice of the media," said Maken.

Maken also said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi sometimes calls the media 'bazaroo', and sometimes a minister General V.K. Singh calls them 'presstitutes'."

"They try to create a sense of fear in this manner. This is an attack on the freedom of media and we condemn it," Maken added.

He also said that during the UPA rule, NDTV had spoken out against the Congress and its leaders, but their government did not take any such steps against the news channel.

"There is no investigation on Vijay Mallya, who is a defaulter of Rs 9,000 crore, and the government allowed him to escape the country," said Maken.

The CBI on Monday raided NDTV founder Prannoy Roy's residence in Delhi over an alleged bank loan default, which the national news network said was part of the probe agency's "concerted harassment" to muzzle free speech.

The CBI raids come days after NDTV anchor Nidhi Razdan had an on-air verbal scuffle with BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, after he alleged the news network was following an "agenda", during a debate over the new central notification on cow trade and slaughter. The BJP leader was told to leave the programme.

--IANS

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