THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cutting across party lines, the major political parties in the state have condemned the detention of the media personnel from the state in Mangaluru. Condemning the attempt to portray the media personnel from Kerala as troublemakers, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said high-handedness against the media personnel shows the fascist attitude of a ruling dispensation. A concerted people’s opinion has to be evolved against such move, he said.
After the news about the illegal detention of media personnel was reported, the chief minister contacted his counterpart in Karnataka and made necessary interventions to ensure the safety of mediapersons who went to Mangaluru to cover the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the city.
In the letter addressed to the Karnataka chief minister, he said: “The Government of Kerala expresses its deep concern at the turn of events. I request your kind intervention for issuing directions to the police authorities so that the media personnel are freed at the earliest and be allowed to discharge their duties in a free manner without being intimidated.”The state police chief was also in touch his counterpart in Karnataka to ensure the safe release of media personnel.
The act of Karnataka administration is declaration of war against democracy and freedom of speech and expression, said Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. Modi and his team are playing the game which was once played by Hitler and Mussolini and bit the dust. The Congress will not sit and watch the fascist movement of the BJP governments and it will fight tooth and nail to resist the advancement of fascist forces in the country, said KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran. The media personnel across the state under the banner of various press clubs and KUWJ took to the street to register their protest against the illegal detention of the media personnel in Mangaluru.