West Bengal: Writers, Artistes Express Solidarity With Newsclick
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New Delhi: The West Bengal Democratic Writers Artists Association (WBDWAA) has condemned the recent attacks by the government on independent news portal Newsclick.
In a statement released on Sunday, “In an era of lackey corporate media”, Newsclick is a “shining example of standing out for freedom of expression and independent journalism, which the present central government is trying to throttle by any means”, WBDWAA said.
The writers and artistes organisation said it considered freedom of expression and the right to dissent as non-negotiable rights guaranteed under the Constitution, and condemned the actions of the government to “browbeat Newsclick into submission and pledge to stand by them and fight for as long as it takes.”
The signatories include well-known linguist and former vice-chancellors Pabitra Sarkar, Shubhankar Chakraborty, elocutionist Rajat Bandyopadhyay, Hindi professor Ram Ahlad Chowdhury, editor of Swadhinota Weekly, political commentator, and Professor of journalism Anjan Bera, and writer Pallab Sengupta.
Read the full statement here:
We, the members of West Bengal Democratic Writers Artists Association, State Committee, note with deep concern the recent attacks unleashed by Govt. of India on Newsclick, an independent news portal which has established itself as a fearless mouthpiece of people who fight for social justice. In an era of lackey corporate media, Newsclick is a shining example of standing out for freedom of expression and independent journalism, which the present central government is trying to throttle by any means.
Central agencies have been hounding Newsclick since 2021 but so far has not been able to come up with any tangible evidence. The present spate of raids and "investigation", in fact, was instigated by a ruling party M P citing a New York Times report. Let this be known that our organisation considers freedom of expression and right to dissent as non-negotiable rights guaranteed under our Constitution. We condemn the actions of Govt. of India to browbeat Newsclick into submission and pledge to stand by them and fight in all for a as long as it takes.
We call upon the people to rally in support of Newsclick and condemn the actions of Govt. of India.
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