Suhail Khan
JAMMU, FEB 05: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took a firm stand on press freedom on Thursday, declaring that any form of intimidation against journalists “is not democracy.”
Addressing the Legislative Assembly during its budget session, the Chief Minister, as per The Web Story/The Varmul Post, underscored the indispensable role of a free press in a democratic framework. “I have always said that if we talk about democracy and then start bothering the press, then that is not democracy at all,” Omar Abdullah stated.
He emphasized, “After all, if we say that the press is the fourth pillar, then keeping the fourth pillar alive is a very big responsibility of democracy.”
The Chief Minister reiterated, “And I say again and again that bothering a journalist to write a legitimate story, that is not democracy.”
