Lal Singh had warned Kashmiri journalists to draw a line between reporting facts and supporting terrorists or face the fate of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari
Amid demands of sacking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Choudhary Lal Singh for his alleged remarks threatening Kashmiri journalists, the saffron party on Sunday said it has high regard for the media and everybody should respect the profession.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Singh had warned Kashmiri journalists to draw a line between reporting facts and supporting terrorists or face the fate of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari, who was shot dead by terrorists earlier this month.
Commenting on Singh's remarks, J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina fell short of apologising but said that BJP has high regard for the media.
"BJP has high regard for the media and all the people who are working in the field of media in the Valley. We have honest and dedicated journalists in J&K. Everybody should respect media," Raina said.
The statement by Lal Singh, a senior BJP leader and former minister in the Mehbooba Mufti government, drew condemnation from the Kashmir Editors Guild and political parties.
The PDP, a BJP ally in the state until very recently, has urged Governor N N Vohra to immediately book and arrest Singh for his derogatory remarks, terming him a serious threat to the state's communal harmony.
Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also lashed at her former allies and asked what the BJP was going to do about him.
"After expressing concern about freedom of expression in J&K following Shujaat's murder, their MLA, notorious & even punished for his role in the aftermath of the unfortunate Kathua case still threatens journalists belonging to the valley, so what are they going to do about him?" she asked in a tweet.
The Congress has also condemned the former minister's remarks.
Singh's brother is already facing charges for his derogatory remarks against the former Mufti and was arrested in the recent past.
Singh and his colleague Chander Prakash Ganga, both minister in BJP-PDP coalition government, had resigned on April 13 over their participation in a rally allegedly in support of the accused in the gang rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl in Kathua district.
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