The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday asked why at least three media houses took down articles on "300 per cent increase" in BJP National President Amit Shah's assets, without giving any explanation.
The Times of India, Daily News and Analysis, and Hindi version of Outlook magazine took down their online articles within hours of publication, AAP senior leader Ashutosh told media.
Shah disclosed his assets, as required, when filing his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election last week and it revealed that over a period of five years his assets have increased by 300 per cent to Rs 34 crore, the AAP leader said.
"There's problem with someone's assets increasing as it can be in a legit way. But when media is forced to take down reports on the increase in assets, it raises many questions like whether it was amassed in a wrong way? Is it black money? Is it disproportionate assets?" he said.
Ashutosh said media is the fourth pillar of democracy and it should function independently for democracy to succeed.
"If the BJP and Amit Shah stand for anti-corruption as they claim, then they should give explanation and clarify why the articles were taken down," he said while urging the media houses to also give "logical reason" on why the articles were taken down.
--IANS
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