Following Chopra’s letter, opposition events united to accuse AAP of attacking press freedom. Nonetheless, the AAP authorities defended the assault in an official doc, claiming that the Punjab Kesari group had violated quite a few meals, excise and air pollution legal guidelines within the title of operating a newspaper and that the motion towards them had nothing to do with journalism.
“In Punjab, the legislation applies equally to everybody. Editorial independence is protected, however violations that endanger public well being, employees and the surroundings is not going to go unnoticed,” a Punjab authorities assertion stated, denying allegations of a “focused witch-hunt”.
This isn’t the primary time that the AAP authorities has confronted allegations of muzzling journalists in Punjab.
In early November, police stopped a number of autos loaded with newspapers throughout an early morning operation, disrupting the provision of newspapers to a number of elements of Punjab. Opposition events declare it was performed to cowl up information that Kejriwal has been allotted an official residence in Chandigarh, whereas police stated they searched the newspaper-laden car after receiving a tip-off that it might be carrying arms and medicines.
Then, in early January, the AAP authorities once more got here underneath extreme assault from the opposition after an FIR was registered on the Cyber Crime Police Station in Ludhiana towards RTI activist Manik Goyal, journalists and social media influencers for allegedly spreading misinformation. The case was registered on the premise of a tweet by Goyal demanding to know the standing of the usage of the state-run helicopter within the absence of the Prime Minister, who was on an official go to to Japan, claiming that it was utilized by AAP’s Delhi crew.
On Monday, the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket stayed additional investigation into the cancellation petition filed by Goyal. Mr. Goyal claimed that the federal government had rejected his request for info on particulars of the usage of the helicopter underneath the Freedom of Info Act.
“Focused Witch Hunt”
Punjab Kesari Group punjabi kesari, Jagbani and hindi samachar Moreover Vijay Chopra, his members of the family Avinash Chopra and Amit Chopra additionally signed the letter to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.
“The story begins with a information article printed on October 31, 2025, which was a really balanced and unbiased report on the opposition’s allegations relating to the ruling nationwide convenor in Punjab. Subsequently, from November 2, 2025, all ads to the Punjab Kesari Group, which printed essentially the most extensively circulated Hindi and Punjabi every day newspaper in Punjab, had been suspended by the Punjab authorities,” it stated.
“Regardless of this financial coercion on the press, we now have stood agency and continued to offer an impartial and free press. However in latest days, a relentless marketing campaign towards the press has been launched.” punjabi kesari and its promoters,” the letter added.
The letter lists a number of raids carried out by the Meals Division, GST Division, Excise Division, Factories Division and Air pollution Management Board prior to now few days at resorts run by the Chopra Group. This letter and so they had been issued a show-cause discover by the Excise Division on January 13 in search of cancellation of the liquor license, which was canceled the subsequent day. The letter added that electrical energy to resorts in Jalandhar was lower off on January 14 and the subsequent day the Air pollution Management Board raided printing presses in Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
“It’s apprehended that this motion could disrupt or utterly cease printing operations at varied print outlets in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Bathinda as on January 15, 2026,” the letter added, including that there was heavy police presence outdoors these print outlets.
“As , the late Lala Jagat Narain hindi samachar 1949 and punjabi kesari Our dedication to freedom of the press is well-known, and our fearless reporting in the course of the interval of insurgency and terrorism in Punjab resulted within the lack of lives of our esteemed Lala Jagat Narain, the late Shri Romesh Chandra Chopra, and 60 different employees, brokers, hawkers and reporters, and a number of other others had been injured. “Nonetheless, the paper has continued to report fearlessly, with out bowing to any stress or affect, and can proceed to take action,” Chopra wrote.
“Such focused witch-hunts, the place varied sectors with pre-determined agendas are disrupting our operations, clearly replicate middleman intentions… Any try and impede press freedom will significantly undermine democracy, particularly in Punjab, the place elections are about to be held,” Chopra stated.
“Those that break the legislation”
In response to Chopra’s letter, the federal government denied the “focused assault” declare, saying the declare was an “try and divert consideration from documented severe violations of the legislation as revealed by a number of statutory authorities appearing strictly inside their authorized powers.”
In a press release launched on Friday, the federal government stated: “The place to begin for this whole subject is just not journalism, promoting or editorial opinion. The place to begin is difficult proof positioned within the public file.”
The Punjab authorities has revealed that because of excise motion at a lodge in Jalandhar, greater than 800 liquor bottles saved in unauthorized places had been seized and liquor bottles with out necessary excise holograms or QR codes had been discovered, with documentation proving that expired draft beer was being offered to prospects for a number of days after it grew to become unfit for consumption.
“The excise authorities have clearly recorded that ignorance is just not an accepted protection and possession and sale of such bottles constitutes a severe offence,” the memo added.
The federal government harassed that the suspension of liquor licenses was strictly ordered via due course of and that describing such actions as revenge would counsel that the excise tax legislation shouldn’t be utilized uniformly.
The federal government has clarified that motion at resorts is not going to be restricted to excise obligation violations. Inspections performed by the Punjab Air pollution Management Board recorded severe environmental and public well being violations. “All through the operation of the lodge, the chemical compounds used within the laundry actions had been discharged straight into the bottom and sewers with none therapy, contaminating the groundwater and contaminating the general public sewerage system. The lodge, which falls underneath the big pink class, continued to function with out a legitimate working license underneath the Water Act 1974 and the Air Act 1981, even after the expiry of the obligatory license on March 31, 2025,” the word added.
The federal government stated these should not technical or procedural deficiencies, however violations that straight endanger public well being, groundwater and the surroundings, and that no accountable authorities can ignore such findings.
“Inspections by the Labor and Factories Division throughout a number of printing items related to the identical group revealed severe and repeated violations of labor legal guidelines, security norms and statutory record-keeping necessities. On the Punjab Kesari Printing Press Unit 2 in Jalandhar, officers “Now we have documented 18 violations underneath the Occupational Security, Well being and Working Situations Laws, together with blocked emergency exits, expired hearth extinguishers, unsafe electrical wiring, lack of protecting tools, empty first assist kits, poor sanitation and lighting, and failure to offer employees’ medical examination information,” the federal government stated.
“Equally, an inspection at Jagat Vijay Printers, Focal Level, Ludhiana, recorded widespread non-compliance together with non-submission of gratuities and wage information, lack of basic record, failure to keep up labor welfare fund information, insufficient hearth extinguishing tools, lack of security guards on equipment, unsafe working areas and blocked emergency exits,” the federal government memo added.
The Punjab authorities stated these inspection reviews collectively revealed a sample of regulatory disregard throughout excise, surroundings and labor sectors. “Enforcement is just not a discretionary energy when a number of statutory authorities file violations in writing with dates, sections and signatures. It’s a authorized obligation,” the federal government stated.
In response to allegations of harassment, the federal government stated it can not use press freedom as an excuse to cease imposing labor, security, and environmental legal guidelines.
The Punjab authorities additionally rejected claims of a “deliberate witch hunt”. The report stated: “Simultaneous actions by completely different departments solely replicate the interval throughout which violations weren’t beforehand addressed. Enforcement is just not motivated by the truth that it’s lastly undertaken, even whether it is delayed.”
Relating to allegations relating to authorities promoting, the Punjab authorities clarified that public service promoting is just not a proper and can’t be used to evade regulatory oversight.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
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