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Nov. 7 blackest day, says Rabi Ray

By Our Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR NOV. 11. November 7 is the "blackest day" for democracy and the freedom of the press, the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Rabi Ray, said today. "The action against senior editors of The Hindu and Murasoli is not only unprecedented but also uncalled for. It is reminiscent of the darkest days of the Emergency that was promulgated on June 25, 1975," he said in a statement from Cuttack.

"The freedom of the press is a major national question. Nobody can conceive of constitutional democracy in our country without ensuring freedom and privileges to legislators both in Parliament and the State Assemblies. But when a Speaker of a State like the one in Tamil Nadu would try to browbeat the print media to blindly follow the Chief Minister's dictates then there is bound to be resistance to such policies," Mr. Ray said.

"I must congratulate the Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu and his colleagues who have shown courage not to submit to the "high-handedness" of the powers that be in Tamil Nadu," Mr. Ray said.

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