Bhubaneswar: With several eminent persons and organisations from across the country raising their voices every day against the Odisha Government’s use of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) against Sambad Group, the Political Editor of Dainik Bhaskar today termed the raid as ‘condemnable’.
“Soumya Ranjan Patnaik Ji, who was a Member of the Parliament, is a good friend of mine. He respects the journalists more than he respects journalism. However, the way the media fraternity is being attacked when any issue is raised against the government in Odisha is highly condemnable. We will raise this issue in Delhi very strongly,” Dainik Bhaskar Political Editor Manish Dixit said.
Criticism against 5T Secretary VK Pandian in two editorials in ‘Sambad’ seems to have shaken the system under BJD rule as the entire government machinery is in all efforts to suppress the voice of the media conglomerate.
The recent EOW raid at Sambad Bhawan and marathon interrogation of people in the top brass of the newspaper in a ‘false’ loan case reportedly leveled by some ex-employees of the media house clearly proved how the parallel government in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s administration is intolerant and scared of facing questions raised by ‘Sambad’ Editor Soumya Ranjan Patnaik on bureaucratic model of governance.
Since the editorials were published in the ‘Sambad’, the newspaper has become the prime target of the nefarious elements who are working overtime to rope in fake complainants.
The sycophants in the BJD government have been assigned to make false allegations against Odisha’s largest circulated Odia daily to appease the chief of the parallel government. A journalist-turned-politician, a former employee of ‘Sambad’, conspired to humiliate Soumya Ranjan Patnaik by arranging a number of complainants (ex-employees) in the ‘false’ Sambad loan scam.
Notably, following the editorials published in ‘Sambad’ against Odisha 5T Secretary VK Pandian, BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik expelled Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik from the party.
The party removed two BJD MLAs — Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and Sudhansu Sekhar Parida — citing anti-people activities.
