Chandigarh, 19 November, 2014: Shri Ashok Arora, the State President of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), has strongly condemned the unwarranted and brutal assault on the media by the State police at Satlok Ashram, Barwala. It is unfortunate that one of the four pillars of democracy, working within and approved norms, was obstructed from performing its duty of faithfully narrating the events of the day. He added that he fervently hoped that the handling of the media by the government was not a precursor of the events to come that might see the existence of only the State controlled media.
Shri Arora saw a clear pattern that had evolved before the actual assault on the media. While accusing the government of complicity in lowering the dignity of the judiciary and diminishing the majesty of law while dilly-dallying in the case of executing arrest warrants of Baba Ram Pal of Satlok Ashram he saw it as the culmination of a series of events that preceded the violent confrontation at the Ashram. In the run up to the Vidhan Sabha polls, the BJP leadership had sought the ‘blessings’ and electoral support from another self styled Godman and after reaping handsome dividends had paraded thirty of its winning candidates before the said Godman for further ‘blessings’.
In fact, Shri Arora said that for quite sometime now the BJP has been hobnobbing with sect leaders and self styled spiritualists to polarize and win votes. This also explains why the State administration perhaps hesitated in executing the warrants of arrest issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against Baba Ram Pal. This reluctance not only amounted to challenging the authority of the Hon’ble High Court but also was an attempt to lower its dignity.
Therefore the INLD strongly condemns the inertia, willful or induced, that has allowed a simple case of law order to deteriorate into a situation where the judiciary and the State, both stand challenged.