Editors Guild urges J&K Governor to take against Lal Singh
New Delhi, June 25: The Editors Guild of India on Monday urged Jammu and Kashmir Governor N. N. Vohra to take action against BJP legislator Choudhary Lal Singh over his "barely veiled threat of violence" against journalists of the Valley.
In a statement, the guild also urged the Tamil Nadu government to adhere to recommendation of TRAI that bar government from owning a television channel distribution company, saying its attention has been drawn to recent instances of how several TV channels in the state have been arbitrarily taken off the air for periods ranging between a couple of hours to a few days.
Referring to Lal Singh's remarks, it said the BJP should reprimand its MLA, take suitable disciplinary action and ask him to withdraw the offending remarks after offering an apology.
"The Editors Guild of India condemns the despicable manner in which a barely veiled threat of violence has been issued against journalists by Lal Singh, an MLA belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and a former minister in the Jammu and Kashmir government," the statement said.
Far from condemning the recent assassination of senior journalist Shujaat Bhukhari, Lal Singh, in a media briefing, warned all journalists in Jammu and Kashmir to "draw a line" unless they wished to be targeted like the slain editor of Rising Kashmir, it said.
"Such a warning not only betrays Singh's deep disregard for the role of the free press in a democracy, it also amounts to encouraging physical attacks against journalists in the sensitive state and elsewhere in the country."
On Tamil Nadu, the Guild said it is appalled that an FIR has been registered by the state police against a reporter and the management of Puthiya Thalaimurai, a Tamil news channel. "All that the news channel did was to host a roundtable discussion on the protests in Tamil Nadu. The FIR was slapped even before the programme was aired."
"In the absence of a convincing explanation, this seems a shocking attempt to muzzle dissenting views and intimidate the media," the Guild said.
It said other affected television channels have also complained that such blackouts happen after they telecast programmes that were not liked by the Tamil Nadu government, which controls the television channel content distribution agency, Arasu Cable.
It said the state government has assured the media that it has no plans to black out television channels but dangers to a free and unhindered distribution of television content will continue to lurk as long as the state government controls a channel distribution company accounting for a market share of over 60 percent. "This also has the dangerous potential of undermining the functioning of a free media."
The Guild urged the government to take necessary steps to ensure that proper regulation is enforced so that no unfair or uncompetitive steps are taken by television channel distribution companies.
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Domestic LPG price hiked by Rs 60 per cylinder to Rs 913
New Delhi (PTI): Domestic cooking gas LPG price on Saturday was hiked by a steep Rs 60 per cylinder, the second increase in rate in less than a year, as oil companies pass on a part of the spike in global energy rates that followed the West Asia crisis.
Non-subsidised LPG - the one that common households use in kitchens - will now cost Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi as against Rs 853 previously, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) website.
Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries - the over 10 crore poor who have got free LPG connection since 2016 - will also have to bear the same amount of price increase. They will now pay Rs 613 per 14.2 kg cylinder after accounting for a subsidy of Rs 300 per bottle they get for up to 12 refills in a year.
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The price increase, the website showed, is effective from March 7.
This is the second increase in rate in 11 months. The price was last hiked by Rs 50 in April last year.
Alongside, the price of commercial LPG - the one used by establishments such as hotels and restaurants - was increased by Rs 114.5 per 19-kg cylinder. It now costs Rs 1,883 in Delhi. This increase comes on top of Rs 28 per 19-kg cylinder raise effected on March 1.
Commercial LPG rate has risen by Rs 302.50 this year.
Industry officials said the increase follows a steep rise in global energy prices since the US and Israel attack on Iran last weekend triggered a wider military conflict in the oil and gas-rich Middle East.
The conflict has led to a near halt in tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz -the narrow but critical sea lane between Iran and Oman used by Middle Eastern producers to export oil and gas to global markets. The disruption has sharply curtailed energy shipments from the region, triggering a spike in global oil and gas prices.
Since the conflict broke out on February 28, US crude soared 35.63 per cent for the biggest weekly gain in the history of the futures contract dating back to 1983. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures closed at USD 90.90 per barrel. Brent jumped about 28 per cent for its biggest weekly gain since April 2020, to settle at USD 92.69 per barrel.
Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also jumped to around USD 25.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) - a three-year high and more than double of last week's levels of around USD 10 per mmBtu amid fears of supply disruptions and halted exports from Qatar.
LPG markets have also tightened as shipments from key Gulf exporters face logistical disruptions, pushing international propane and butane benchmarks higher and raising concerns over supply availability for major importers such as India.
Despite Saturday's price increase, cooking gas in India is priced at the lowest when compared with neighbouring countries, industry officials said.
In Mumbai, non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 912.50, Rs 939 in Kolkata and Rs 928.50 in Chennai, according to the IOC website.
Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
The Strait of Hormuz is also a critical conduit for India's energy imports, with roughly half of the crude oil the country buys from overseas transiting through the narrow waterway. In addition, nearly 40 per cent of India's natural gas imports, largely in the form of LNG from Gulf suppliers like Qatar and the UAE, also pass through the strait.
For LPG, the strait is more important. India consumed 31.3 million tonne of LPG in 2024-25, of which only 12.8 million tonne were produced domestically, with the remainder imported. Of the imported quantity, 85-90 per cent come from countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on the Strait of Hormuz for transit.
The Strait has been effectively blocked following a week-old escalation in the region, after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to retaliate against US bases in neighbouring countries.
To augment domestic supplies, the government on Friday invoked sparingly used emergency powers to direct oil refineries to ramp up LPG production.
