The Hindu : Curbing press freedom is political terrorism: Bitta

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003

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Curbing press freedom is political terrorism: Bitta

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI Nov. 17 . "Political terrorism" in the form of stifling of the Opposition and the press is a trend that has started in Tamil Nadu. This trend is spreading to other States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF), M.S. Bitta said here today at a press conference.

Mr. Bitta is a former Congress leader from Punjab and has survived over a dozen assassination attempts for his tough anti-terrorist stand.

He praised the role of the media in the wake of the Tamil Nadu Assembly's resolution ordering the arrest of senior journalists of The Hindu. He called for a full-fledged inquiry into the entire episode.

What was done to The Hindu was unacceptable, because the paper was the "pride of the nation" and it remained unbiased.

Asked what he meant by "political terrorism," Mr. Bitta said that political rulers, bureaucrats and police officers were joining hands to suppress the Opposition parties and the media just to remain in power or retain their seats. In some States, the Chief Ministers were behaving like "dictators or emperors and as if there was no democracy." "A day will come when even the press will not be able to fight this trend." One could fight the terrorism of the ISI or the LTTE, but not the political terrorism as prevailing in India. However, this did not prevail in Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh.

Only a month ago, Mr. Bitta said, he had (in Karnataka) praised the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's tough stand against the LTTE and support of POTA, "by which, in fact, I earned the wrath of the State Congressmen," he said.

Mr. Bitta said the AIATF would organise on December 4 a function in Delhi when "the persons who raised their voice against the happenings in Tamil Nadu against The Hindu will be given the Pride of the Nation awards".

Besides The Hindu's Editor-in-Chief, N. Ram, two former DGPs of Punjab, K.P.S. Gill and J.F. Ribeiro, and leading journalists would participate.

Pointing to the failure of the State Governments concerned to catch the forest brigand Veerappan, Mr. Bitta said the Centre should set up a joint committee comprising the heads of the four States, with representatives of Central security forces and NSG commandos, "which I am sure will catch Veerappan dead or alive in three months."

Earlier, Mr. Bitta called on Mr. Ram and presented a special award in recognition of the "fearless" fight against all forms of terrorism and said the entire journalistic fraternity had stood united against the attack on the "freedom of the press".

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