CPM questions vindictive action against NewsClick

CHENNAI: CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan on Wednesday questioned why no action was taken on the PM Cares Fund for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an ex-offico chairman for receiving funds from the Chinese companies under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Addressing a protest against the BJP government for vindictive actions against NewsClick and other media here, he said that NewsClick journalists were booked under the UAPA for investments made by a US businessman Neville Roy Singham with business interests in China.

"Singham was one of the businessmen invested in the NewsClick. There is nothing wrong with it, " he said, adding that the journalists were accused of spreading Chinese propaganda and spying for them.

He said that Singham who is a Communist sympathiser has funded the online portal. "If a businessman who runs a business in China providing a fund is wrong, then action should be initiated against the Prime Minister who chairs the PM Cares Fund. The Fund is a non-audited one with no transparency on funding sources and how it is being spent, " he said.

Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani said that the BJP's government action against the NewsClick cannot be ignored as a distant incident. "Wherever such oppression of the freedom of expression takes place, we have come together to protest it, " he said, calling for a movement against the oppression of journalists.