The Wire news portal, which often remains under the scanner for being critical of its controversial reporting, on Friday accused the Government of India of banning its website. The Wire issued an official statement on their social media handle X and accused the Government of India of violating the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press. However, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has not reacted to the accusations. Below is what The Wire alleged-
"Dear Readers of The Wire
In a clear violation of the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press, the Government of India has blocked access to thewire.in across India.
The internet service providers are saying multiple things. We have learnt it is per orders of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
We protest this blatant censorship at a critical time for India when sane, truthful, fair, and rational voices and sources of news and information are among the biggest assets that India has.
We are taking all necessary steps to challenge this arbitrary and inexplicable move.
Your support has kept our work going for the past 10 years and we are counting on all of us standing together at this time.
We will not be deterred from providing truthful and accurate news to all our readers."
The Wire's Ban comes a day after the Global Government Affairs handle of X (formerly Twitter) announced that the Indian government directed the social media platform to restrict access to the accounts of several users and news outlets, in light of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. This included the X handles of Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, and Free Press Kashmir. Almost 8000 accounts on X have been withheld in India.