Naidu: Modi trying to gag media 'unconstitutionally'

Condemning the Centre’s threat of invoking Official Secrets Act (OSA) against a newspaper, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday termed the move unconstitutional.

Addressing a press conference in Amaravati, Naidu said that the Narendra Modi government is trying to silence the media for questioning it on Rafale deal.

“Instead of coming clean on alleged irregularities in Rafale deal brought out by The Hindu and Mr N Ram, the Modi government is trying to silence the press through unconstitutional means by creating a climate of fear. It signals an imminent possibility of the breakdown of democracy,” the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

“After misguiding SC, misleading the nation, destroying all vital institutions of the country, Modi govt’s threat to file cases under Official Secrets Act against The Hindu and Mr N Ram is a serious threat to freedom of speech & expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India,” he said.

Criminal party

Earlier, speaking to Telugu Desam Party cadres through teleconferencing, Naidu dubbed the YSRCP a born criminal party and urged voters to save the state from its clutches. He suspected that the BJP-TRS-YSRCP trio was hell-bent on making Andhra people puppets in their hands through nefarious means.

“Jagan tells media after meeting the Governor his party actually filed lakhs of Form 7s, which is illegal. This is the way YSRCP is resorting to deletion of voters' names from electoral rolls,” Naidu said.