World Press Freedom Index: Centre Disapproves India's Ranking, Questions Methodology & Sample Size

Minister of state for home Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that Kashmir Press Club as a registered body had ceased to exist as it failed to register under the Societies Registration Act, 1860

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai speaks in the Rajya Sabha, during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. (SANSAD TV/PTI Photo)

New Delhi: In response to India’s 142nd ranking on its World Press Freedom Index, the government clarified its stance saying it does not subscribe to Reporters Without Borders’ views and its rankings.

While replying to Congress member Manish Tewari’s query in the Lok Sabha about the latest World Press Freedom Index ranking, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the methodology used by foreign NGO Reporters Without Borders is questionable.

News agency PTI reports, Rai said India’s disapproval is based on “very low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy, adoption of a methodology which is questionable and non-transparent, lack of clear definition of press freedom, etc.”

Meanwhile, responding to the query regarding the closure of Kashmir Press Club on January 18, Rai said there is no registered body by that name.

The minister added there is no elected managing body of the club since it, as a registered body, has ceased to exist and failed to register itself under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Sharing details, Rai informed the Lok Sabha that the Estates Department of the UT administration has taken over the government building where the Kashmir Press Club was operated, on January 17, in presence of the Srinagar executive magistrate and the government building has deployed the static guard for its protection.

While replying to a different question, Rai said according to the report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of cases registered under anti-terror law UAPA in the country in 2020 is 796, according to the agency.

A total of 1,321 people were arrested under the UAPA and 116 people were acquitted. Altogether 80 people were convicted under the UAPA in the country in 2020, he said.

(With PTI Inputs)