The Uttarakhand State Congress has condemned the incident that occurred late Friday evening at the national headquarters of UNI and UNI Varta, the country’s oldest multilingual news agency, located on Rafi Marg in New Delhi, where a large police contingent arrived and sealed the premises without any prior intimation, while also engaging in misconduct towards female journalists.
State President Ganesh Godiyal termed the incident undemocratic, characterizing it as both dictatorial and unfortunate. He stated that, under the pretext of enforcing a court order, the police’s decision to visit the UNI office late in the evening constitutes a violation of human values. Furthermore, he noted that preventing journalists from even retrieving their personal belongings and physically manhandling a female journalist runs contrary to all ethical norms. He asserted that the current government is making continuous attempts to stifle the voice of the media.
Former Congress Secretary Mahesh Joshi condemned the police for forcibly entering the UNI office and resorting to the use of force. He described this action as an assault on the freedom of the media, often referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy. He pointed out that since the matter was still sub judice (under judicial consideration), and even following the court’s verdict, there remained other legal avenues that were actively being explored. Under such circumstances, he argued, a forcible eviction carried out at the behest of the government is entirely unjustifiable.
The party’s outgoing State Spokesperson, Sheeshpal Singh Bisht, strongly denounced the incident, alleging that the current Central Government is determined—by any means necessary,to hand over this news agency (widely regarded as a source of national pride) to its corporate allies, Adani and Ambani, just as it has done with various other institutions. He claimed that this explains why the government became rattled after the Adani Group’s bid was rejected by the Company Tribunal, with the contract subsequently being awarded to the ‘Statements Group’, leading to the cancellation of the UNI premises’ allotment. He characterized this entire episode as a direct assault on the independent media.