Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati condemned the raid by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on the offices and houses of an eminent journalist and owner of a news channel terming it was misuse of Government machinery driven by political vendetta.
In a statement released in lucknow on Wednesday, Mayawati said that the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre can come up with any explanation, but it was a clear case of misuse of government machinery to suit the political interest of the ruling party.
The BSP honcho said that the Modi government wanted this particular channel to give in to the ruling dipensation like others who have transformed into government mouthpieces. "The action is a clear pointer that the government wanted to send a message to journalists and media group owners that they should follow ruling party ‘diktat’ or be ready to face trouble in future. The Government wants to terrorise journalist who cvome up with stories against the Central government," Mayawati alleged.
The BSP chief assured that her party would firmly stand behind the media in their struggle to ensure democratic values of the country and expose misdeeds and failure of governments, irrespective of which party was in power. She said that she supported the ideology of the news channel that they would continue their fight for freedom of expression.