Journalists, jurists speak out against CBI raids on NDTV, Roy
Never touched any black money, says channel’s promoter; speeches accuse govt of undermining free speech and intimidating the media, ask for channel to be given a fair chance
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of journalists came together on Friday to protest against recent CBI raids on the homes and offices of NDTV promoter Prannoy Roy, saying the investigation against him in an alleged bank fraud was reminiscent of the attack on press freedom during the Emergency.
Veteran editors Kuldeep Nayar and HK Dua, senior jurist Fali Nariman and former BJP minister Arun Shourie were among the speakers who defended Roy and his TV channel at the two-hour event at the Press Club of India. Roy, his wife Radhika and a private company linked to NDTV – RRPR Holding Private Ltd – are accused of defrauding ICICI Bank of Rs 48 crore on a loan taken in 2008. The CBI searched four places belonging to the Roys in Delhi and Dehradun on Monday. The Roys denied wrongdoing. “I commit that Radhika, I and NDTV have never touched one rupee of black money. We have never bribed one person in our lives,” Roy told the gathering.
“It is a signal to all of us: We (the government) can suppress you even if you haven’t done anything.”
The raids came at a time when the Opposition has accused the government of selectively targeting charities and media groups as part of a campaign to control free speech and dissent.
In their speeches, Nayar, Nariman and Shourie took on the government, accusing it of undermining free speech and intimidating the media just as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did during a 21-month period of Emergency in 1975-77 when she curtailed fundamental rights and tried to muzzle the press.