Activist Yogendra Yadav condemns action against news portal NewsClick

Psephologist and activist Yogendra Yadav on Tuesday condemned the Delhi police's raids on properties related to news portal NewsClick and its journalists.

Delhi Police's special cell searched 30 locations connected with the portal in a case filed under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda. "It is a clear attack on journalism and freedom of speech in the country," Yadav told reporters here.

This was not the first time the BJP-led Union government was acting in this way and earlier the office of a reputed foreign media organisation was raided, he said. "We all know what was done to fact-checker Mohammad Zubair and journalist (Siddique) Kappan," he added. The journalists who have faced action are known to ask tough questions to the government, and the raids send out a clear political message, Yadav said.

"The message is very clear to all the journalists in the country, if you raise your voice, this will happen," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking about the Bihar caste survey report, he said such surveys are necessary and they bring out not just population figures but also real statistics about educational, economic and social status of every caste. He also claimed that the BJP had supported the caste census in 2010, and in 2018, then home minister Rajnath Singh had promised an OBC census.