The Congress party on Sunday lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the latter directed officials in the national capital to lodge complaints against 'defamatory' news items which 'damage the reputation' of the government with the Principal Secretary of the Home Ministry.
"This is the finest doublespeak I have ever seen of a Chief Minister who has used the media to target not only our government but various governments. The language, his tone and tenor has been defamatory earlier and now he is fighting the media to threat some defamation. This is not acceptable," Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said.
"The fourth estate cannot be belittled by such threats. Indian fourth estate will fight it at every platform possible. This is democracy and not a dictatorship," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress legal cell head K.C. Mittal termed Kejriwal's order as 'no less than terror'.
"The media has freedom of expression and speech. The media plays a dominant role in democracy. The media has its constitutional right. How can you [Arvind Kejriwal] shut the mouth of the media? You are terrorising the media. This is another form of terrorism," he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Ajay Maken referred to Kejriwal's actions as an 'attack on democracy'.
"It seems that Kejriwal is now frightened of the media. It is unfortunate that such circular has been brought out. This is an attack not only on media, but on democracy," he said.