Kashmiri Journalist Labeled "Separatist" by Lieutenant Governor in Controversy Over Government Project Reporting

A Kashmiri journalist who reported claims made by an IAS officer regarding flaws in a government project was allegedly called a "separatist" by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, which prompted the journalist's editor to respond sharply.

According to media sources, Sinha stated on Friday that he was "himself an active part of the separatist ecosystem" and that he was the "writer" of an essay revealing purported flaws in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana health insurance scheme. He didn't give the author's name.

Jehangir Ali, a Wire correspondent covering Kashmir, appeared to be the subject of the reference. Editor of the portal Siddharth Varadarajan wrote to Sinha on Sunday, requesting that he desist from making "unfounded allegations against bona fide members of the media, which is a crucial pillar of democracy" and remove the accusation.

The lieutenant governor's high office's "baseless accusation" might have dangerous repercussions "for the journalist you are targeting and also for the media more broadly," Varadarajan continued.

The Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojna insurance scheme involved a multi-crore contract that was amended midway to benefit a private insurance company. Ali had reported IAS officer Ashok Kumar Parmar's allegations that the J&K administration under Sinha rejected the advice of the finance and law departments on this matter. The report was published in The Wire. In a follow-up report he also filed, he stated that there are still a number of unanswered concerns regarding the insurance plan, even though the J&K administration rejected the IAS officer's assertions.

Sinha attacked the journalist and denied any corruption the day following Ali's story from October 12. He attacked those who were supposedly part of the "anti-India, separatist, and corrupt ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir," claiming that they were concerned that there would be "no space" left for them "to breathe."

In J&K, there were three distinct ecosystems: corrupt, separatist, and anti-Indian. He was reported in a newspaper as saying, "Those connected to these ecosystems are concerned and hurting because they know that the Government of India and J&K will not provide them any oxygen."

"It (Sinha's remark) suggests a willingness on the part of your administration to interfere with freedom of expression and freedom of the press," Varadarajan wrote in his letter.

In addition to using these rights for personal gain, journalists also do so because all citizens are entitled to knowledge and a variety of news and opinions. This viewpoint has been acknowledged as a fundamental constitutional concept, as you may be aware.

"There is no evidence in any of Jehangir Ali's writings for The Wire or anywhere else to support the charges you have made. Furthermore, it would be difficult to discover anything he has ever done to support it.

According to the letter, Sinha had mentioned a news article that discussed policy and fell under the category of "legitimate expression."

"Of course, the government is free to disagree or, if it so chooses, to respond with facts. But it should be clear that opposing government policies is not the same as separatist. Furthermore, publicly labeling a journalist whose news story the government disagrees with as a "separatist" is very different from having the authority to formally respond to that journalist, according to Varadarajan.

"We ask you to rescind your charge against Jehangir Ali and to stop leveling baseless accusations against legitimate media professionals, as the media is an essential component of democracy."

In an alleged letter to the CBI, IAS officer Parmar, the chairman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Jammu and Kashmir, stated that the Sinha-led administration had breached the terms of the insurance company's contract by offering it a fifteen percent addendum (for a few months until the contract was awarded to another company).

The business was given the three-year contract on December 26, 2020, but it attempted to terminate it in September 2021, allegedly due to financial difficulties.

According to Ali's account, which quoted the letter, "but the state administration offered a 15% addendum to the existing contract for four more months ending March 2022."

On Saturday, Bhupinder Kumar, the health secretary for Jammu and Kashmir, informed reporters that the entire amount of premiums paid to Bajaj Allianz General Insurance was roughly Rs 304 crore, while the business has dispersed over Rs 398 crore among patients.

"The truth is that the company has lost money to the tune of Rs 93.2 crore, rather than making a profit," Kumar stated.