Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Tamilnadu: Attack On Press Condemned
The decision to imprison the publisher and four editors and journalists of `The Hindu' by the Tamilnadu legislative assembly is an outrageous attack on the freedom of the press and the rights of citizens. The sentencing to prison of the journalists of a respected newspaper is a gross misuse of legislative privilege. This extraordinary step against `The Hindu' and the `Murasoli' newspapers is another sign of the extreme intolerance to any opposition or dissent by the Jayalalitha government. It follows the action of mass dismissals of government employees and the filing of cases against opposition leaders for supporting the strike.
This attack must be strongly condemned and opposed. The Jayalalitha government must reconsider and withdraw the action. All the democratic forces must unitedly protest such authoritarian acts.