Vijayawada /Chandigarh, Apr 3 (TNT): The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) on Friday strongly objected to recent takedown orders and blocking of content posted by journalists, independent digital media platforms, satirists and fact-checkers critical of the government, terming it “undeclared censorship”.
In a statement, IJU President Balwinder Singh Jammu and Secretary General D Soma Sundar said the blocking of accounts linked to Mohammed Zubair, Molitics, National Dastak, 4PM News and stand-up comedian Rajeev Nigam amounted to a misuse of executive power to silence critical voices.
They described the actions as opaque and selective, alleging that they constitute digital censorship and a direct assault on the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
The IJU leaders said the Centre cannot rely on “secretive procedures and vague legal provisions” to target dissent, warning that such measures undermine democracy and media freedom.
Calling the developments a “dangerous and unacceptable attack”, they urged the government to immediately withdraw all arbitrary takedown orders, disclose the grounds for such actions, and stop what they termed intimidation of journalists and independent media platforms.
The IJU reaffirmed its support for journalists and media organisations facing censorship and said it would continue to resist any attempts to curb press freedom.
TNT KM
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