A Year Ahead of Polls, AAP Govt in Punjab Faces Allegations of Media Crackdown
In January, FIRs were registered against RTI activist Manik Goyal, social media influencers, and Lok Awaaz TV.
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As parties begin preparing for the 2027 Punjab Assembly, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party seems to be showing signs of political fatigue. Its recent rally in Moga saw poor public turnout, with many empty chairs visible at the venue. Several opposition leaders shared these visuals on social media, questioning AAP’s mass connect ahead of the elections
The AAP emerged from street protests and anti-establishment movements, building its political identity around questioning power, transparency, and free expression. Now in its fourth year in power in Punjab, the party now faces scrutiny over whether it can tolerate the same questioning once in power.
Before assuming office, AAP leaders strongly opposed media bans, FIRs against journalists, and the use of police power to silence dissent. However, journalists and independent media organisations in Punjab allege that since AAP came to power in 2022 under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the space for scrutiny has narrowed, with routine questions often framed as issues of law, order, or security.
Of late, relations between the Punjab government and sections of the press appear increasingly strained. The resulting tension raises a broader democratic question: does political power merely change governments, or does it also test the principles they once championed?
AAP's Claims on Press Freedom
On 4 December 2015, while speaking in Parliament on freedom of expression, Bhagwant Mann had said: “When pressure increases on electronic media and print media from governments, in such a situation social media is being seen as the medium to show the truth. But of late, there have been reports of police atrocities and harassment against social media activists and independent journalists. Journalists are being sent to jail. I urge the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that action should be taken on the kind of media emergency that has come into effect. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also directed that speaking on Facebook should not be treated as a crime under Section 66A.”
More recently, AAP MP Raghav Chadha raised concerns regarding digital speech, fair use, and copyright strikes. He reiterated the same stance in a Facebook post accompanying his parliamentary video.
In his post, Chadha wrote, “Today in Parliament, I spoke on Fair Use and Copyright Strikes on Digital Content. Millions of Indians are now digital content creators. Their channels & pages are valuable assets built over years of hard work, which get taken-down by Copyright Strikes. India’s Copyright Act, 1957 must be modernised to define Fair Use, to protect transformative and incidental use, while safeguarding original creators. Fair use is NOT piracy. Creativity cannot thrive under the fear of arbitrary, algorithm-driven copyright strikes.”
These remarks came even as journalists and independent digital platforms in Punjab have alleged takedowns, copyright strikes, and restrictions on their content.
FIRs Against Journalists and RTI Activists
In January 2026, FIRs were registered against ten individuals, including RTI activist Manik Goyal, several social media influencers, and the digital platform Lok Awaaz TV, for allegedly posting “distorted and unverified content” after questioning the use of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s helicopter during his official visit to Japan and South Korea. The FIRs followed social media posts and a news report tracking the helicopter’s movements during the Chief Minister’s absence from the country.
Speaking about the case, RTI activist Manik Goyal alleged, "FIRs filed against journalists included non-bailable sections. Routine questions are being projected as matters of national security. Using publicly accessible tools like FlightRadar24 and the helicopter’s tail number, I found that while the Chief Minister was on an official Japan–Korea tour, the state helicopter was operating near Amritsar and Jalandhar."
A group of journalists and Goyal approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which granted interim relief by staying further investigation. According to reports, the court observed,“Reporting news is an important part of freedom of speech and expression. Just because a public official feels offended, that by itself cannot justify criminal action. The State cannot act based on emotions or its own version of events. The correct legal test is whether an ordinary person would perceive real harm, not merely the possibility of reaction.”
The State defended the FIRs, arguing that the content was inflammatory, had the potential to disturb public peace, and that the investigation was at an early stage.
Media Action and Assembly Restrictions
Reports have also emerged of action against the newspaper Punjab Kesari, with allegations that its distribution vehicles were stopped and searched and that its printing presses were raided. Restrictions were also reported within the Punjab Legislative Assembly, where several senior journalists were denied entry to the press gallery. The Gallery Committee reportedly removed journalists from The Indian Express, The Tribune, Punjabi Tribune, and Punjabi Jagran without issuing formal explanations, ending their long-standing presence in the Assembly.
According to Jay Singh Chibber, President of the Punjab and Chandigarh Journalist Union, “Journalists are facing FIRs, denial of Assembly access, and shutdowns of digital platforms. This shows a growing discomfort with scrutiny. The exclusion of senior journalists from established newspapers has never happened before in the history of the Punjab Assembly.”
Independent journalist Rattandeep Dhaliwal said his Facebook page received repeated copyright strikes despite using only publicly available material.
“Between January 10 and January 21, I received ten copyright strikes. These were images already in the public domain, including photographs of the Chief Minister officially released on verified government platforms.”
Similarly, independent digital channel Lok Awaaz TV was shut down after receiving seven copyright strikes in a single day. The channel used footage from official Punjab Vidhan Sabha proceedings and videos shared on the Chief Minister’s verified social media accounts, all of which are in the public domain.
AAP Not the First to Go Against Journalists
During the Shiromani Akali Dal–BJP government (2007–2017), following the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing at Kotkapura, mobile internet services were suspended in parts of the state amid widespread protests. Journalists reported restrictions on movement and communication, while activists and reporters were booked under serious criminal provisions.
Under the Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh (2017–2022), journalists and social media users faced police action during the COVID-19 period for posts questioning health infrastructure, administrative preparedness, and lockdown enforcement. Journalists argue, however, that while previous governments also acted against the press, the scale, frequency, and digital nature of restrictions in recent years have been sharper and more systematic.
The NDA government at the Centre regularly bans social media accounts of Punjab-based journalists as well as portals like Sikh Siyasat. This process intensified significantly after the farmers' protest.
Punjab itself witnessed one of its longest internet shutdowns in March 2023 during the police operation against Amritpal Singh. Mobile internet and SMS services were suspended across large parts of the state for several days for concerns over public order and security, disrupting reporting, verification and dissemination of information.
The debate surrounding press freedom in Punjab is not about whether governments should act during moments of crisis. It is about proportionality, transparency, and consistency in the use of power.
Governments across party lines have invoked security and emergency provisions. However, the frequency and manner of their use determine whether such measures remain exceptional responses — or become routine instruments of governance.
For a party that emerged from protest politics and built its credibility by questioning authority, expectations are inevitably higher. The present tensions between the AAP government and sections of the press, therefore, go beyond individual cases. They raise a larger democratic concern: whether the right to question power remains protected once those who once demanded accountability are in power themselves.
(Damanjeet Kaur is a writer and journalist from Punjab)