Bharatiya Janata Party

11 results arranged by date

CPJ urges transparency as India broadcast bill raises censorship fears 

New Delhi, August 15, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Indian government to ensure proper consultation with media publishers before enacting a broadcast regulation bill that journalists fear will give authorities sweeping powers to control online content.  “India’s planned broadcast bill could have a chilling effect on press freedom,” CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator…

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Indian journalist Jaspal Singh arrested in Haryana

On March 18, 2023, police in the Indian state of Haryana arrested Jaspal Singh, a TV journalist who reports part-time for the local broadcaster News18 Haryana, from his home in the city of Ratia, according to news reports and Rajesh Kundu, editor of the news website The Ink, who is familiar with the case and…

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Indian journalist Rana Ayyub receives rape, death threats

New Delhi, January 27, 2022 – Indian authorities must immediately conduct a swift and thorough investigation into threats made to Mumbai-based Washington Post columnist and freelance journalist Rana Ayyub, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Ayyub, who has long been a victim of online trolling and threats, told CPJ that she began receiving an…

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Facebook India executive files criminal complaint against journalist

New Delhi, August 19, 2020 – Facebook regional director Ankhi Das should withdraw her criminal complaint against journalist Awesh Tiwari, and respect citizens’ rights to criticize her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 16, Das, Facebook’s public policy director for India, South, and Central Asia, filed a criminal complaint with the cyber…

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Police investigate Indian journalist Vinod Dua for alleged sedition

New Delhi, June 16, 2020 – Indian authorities should immediately drop all criminal investigations into journalist Vinod Dua, and officials of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party must stop harassing him over his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.  On June 12, Himachal Pradesh police arrived at Dua’s home in Delhi and issued him…

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A police officer is seen at the office of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Chennai on November 9, 2019. BJP officials recently incited a harassment campaign against journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani. (Reuters/P. Ravikumar)

Indian journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani receives death threats after BJP officials share edited video

New York, February 24, 2020 — Bharatiya Janata Party officials must cease inciting online harassment against journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani, and Indian authorities should ensure that threats against journalists are taken seriously, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People ride past the India Gate in New Delhi, India September 1, 2017. Chhattisgarh regional police said they searched Vinod Verma's New Delhi home and allegedly found over 500 CD copies of a sex tape Verma used to extort and blackmail a government minister. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

Indian police arrest journalist on charges of alleged extortion and blackmail

Indian regional police arrested freelance journalist Vinod Verma on October 27, 2017, on claims that he used a sex tape to extort and blackmail a minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Chhattisgarh region– claims the journalist denies, according to news reports.

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Several Indian journalists receive death threats

New Delhi, September 29, 2017–Authorities in India must move quickly to identify those responsible for sending at least five threats to kill journalists for critical coverage of the government and take steps to ensure the journalists’ security, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Worrisome curbs on free speech emerge since Modi’s election

Earlier this month, Indian authorities arrested seven people for publishing a photo of India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, alongside figures such as George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, and Adolf Hitler, under the headline, “Negative Faces.” The seven, who could face lengthy prison terms if convicted, are but the latest Indians facing criminal proceedings…

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Election staff carry electronic voting machines through tea shrubs on their way to polling stations on the outskirts of the northeastern Indian city of Siliguri April 16, 2014. (Reuters)

Censorship in India on the rise amid elections

This month, Indians are voting in the largest election in history. It’s an exciting exercise in democracy, but it comes against a grim backdrop: censorship in the country is on the rise, according to a quarterly report by the South Asian media watchdog, The Hoot.

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