Congress leader slams detention of two journalists from MP over publication of 'fake news'
Bhopal (PTI): Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Arun Yadav has criticised the Rajasthan police's detention of two journalists from Madhya Pradesh over alleged publication of fake news, calling it an "attack on democracy".
The Rajasthan police on Friday detained Anand Pandey and Harish Divekar from Bhopal for allegedly publishing a series of fake and defamatory reports against Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari on their news portal, 'The Sutra', last month and for demanding Rs 5 crore for their removal.
The complainant claimed that the duo contacted acquaintances of the deputy chief minister, demanding several crores of rupees to delete the false reports and to refrain from publishing such content in the future.
They also allegedly threatened to damage her political and social image if the demand was not met, Jaipur police said in a statement.
Congress leader Yadav, in a post on X, said, "When journalists who tell the truth are in jail while those who spread lies roam free, then understand that democracy is in danger."
He claimed that the detention of Pandey and Divekar was a "direct attack on democracy".
"The Sutra's tagline 'we fear only god' scares the BJP government the most, because true journalists do not compromise with power," he wrote in the post.
According to the Rajasthan police, the same misleading content was also circulated on another affiliated web portal called 'The Capital'.
Technical examination and witness statements confirmed that the reports were not fact-based.
Based on the evidence collected, Pandey and Divekar were detained from Bhopal on Friday and were brought to Jaipur for further questioning.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
