NewsClick raids: 'Distraction from 'explosive' findings of Bihar caste survey,' says Congress

As Delhi police raided different premises linked to news portal NewsClick on Tuesday, the Congress alleged that it was a "fresh distraction" from the "explosive" findings of the caste survey in Bihar and the growing demand for a caste census across the country.

The homes of several journalists and employees linked to NewsClick were raided by the Delhi Police's Special Cell on Tuesday morning amid its alleged Chinese links. The raid started from 6 am this morning at over 100 places in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Mumbai, according to an India Today report.

Reacting to the development, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, said, "The early morning raids on contributing journalists at Newsclick comes as fresh distraction from the explosive findings of caste census in Bihar and the growing demand for caste census across the country."

"When he faces questions from out of syllabus, he resorts to the only counter he has in his predictable syllabus - DISTRACTION," Khera said on X, in a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Cops have reportedly seized electronic evidence including laptops and mobile phones and took data dumps of hard disks. The searches were based on inputs shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), indicating alleged unlawful activities by the suspects

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also slammed the government over the raids.

"Despite an army of sycophants, some journalists still dare to speak the truth. But the Prime Minister has a special problem with those who speak the truth and those who ask questions," she alleged.

"So they will be raided, intimidated but Saheb forgets that not everyone's spine is missing as is the case with sycophants," Shrinate said in a post in Hindi on X.

The Congress leaders' remarks come a day after the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released findings of its much-awaited caste survey months ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a whopping 63 per cent of the state's total population.

Also Read: Delhi Police raids NewsClick's office, journalists amid China funding row