'Jaganmohan Reddy government undermining voice of media', says BJP leader Lanka Dinakar

BJP Leader, Lanka Dinakar on Thursday said that Jagan Mohan Reddy's government is undermining voices of media in Andhra Pradesh when they try to report on the situation due to COVID-19 pandemic by booking cases against them. He further said that he strongly condemned the approach of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh. 

'Jagan Mohan Reddy undermines media voices' 

Dinakar issued a statement saying, "The YSRCP government is violating freedom of speech and expression as provided in Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution by booking cases against print and electronic media houses. They have been covering the news in the interest of the public, most particularly when the coronavirus cases on average have crossed 10,000 per day at present."

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Lanka Dinakar, the BJP leader mentioned a case where the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh acted against a TV channel after it reported the death of a headmaster because of COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh.

"Recently, an Andhra headmaster of the ZP School in the Nellore district had released a video on his miserable conditions after infection of coronavirus to appeal to the government and he died subsequently, the same video had been telecasted on a TV channel along with other media houses. But Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government purposefully targeted the MD and Newsreader by filing a case against them," Lanka said. 

The current situation in Andhra Pradesh due to COVID-19 cases is deteriorating day by day. The above video was released by Ramesh Kumar, a headmaster of Manubolu ZP Boys High School. In the video, Ramesh can be heard saying that he is COVID-19 positive and has been waiting outside the hospital for one hour and is appealing to the Collector, DEO, Joint Collector, and MLA to save him. He further said that he is suffering from sugar and other diseases as well. After he was admitted to the hospital, on the morning of 11 August, 11 am, Ramesha Kumar died when his blood pressure dropped. 

Questioning the Jagan government further, the BJP leader added, "Is it a way to treat the media? The same media channel was targeted a few months back by filing a case against a moderator of the channel and the chairman though High Court had questioned the acts of the government. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government is acting unconstitutionally." 

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(with inputs from ANI)