‘Assassination of Democracy’: Congress expresses shock over police storming UNI office, dragging out journalists

Amid mounting political criticism over the forcible eviction of United News of India (UNI) from its Delhi headquarters, Dhirendra Pratap, Senior Spokesperson and Senior Vice President of the Uttarakhand Congress, on Saturday termed the incident an “assassination of democracy” and a “black day” in history.

Speaking to journalists here on Saturday, Pratap expressed his shock upon learning of an unexpected turn of events on Friday evening, wherein the Delhi premises of the news agency United News of India were forcibly dragged by Delhi Police personnel. He asserted that the sudden eviction of the office of the country’s premier news agency, executed without notice and backed by a heavy police force, amounts to an assassination of democracy. Alleging misconduct, he remarked that the manner in which working journalists were forcibly removed from the UNI newsroom under the Modi regime could be classified as an act of anarchy.

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It is noteworthy that for several decades, UNI had been operating from its premises located at 9 Rafi Marg, near Parliament Street. On Friday, just hours after the Delhi High Court delivered its verdict on a pending petition regarding the cancellation of the premises’ allotment by the Ministry of Urban Development, some government officials, acting in haste and without any prior notice, entered the premises accompanied by approximately 300 personnel and officers from the Delhi Police and paramilitary forces, along with a few lawyers. They proceeded to pressure the journalists and other employees working there to immediately vacate the newsroom and exit the premises, even though that particular time of day typically marks the peak period for news transmission activities.

Terming this a “black day,” Dhirendra Pratap observed that while significant measures are taken globally to uphold press freedom, in this instance, the UNI office was forcibly cleared in a hasty manner before its management board could even approach the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s verdict, an occurrence that does not bode well for democracy. Describing the press as the fourth pillar of democracy, he stated that for decades, UNI has been regarded, not merely in India but across the globe, as the largest news-gathering agency in Hindi, English, and Urdu; in this context, the misuse of the police is deeply distressing and unfortunate.