PDP leader Waheed Ur Rehman Para on Wednesday sharply criticised the Jammu and Kashmir administration over what he called the “selective revival” of social media monitoring and media gag policies, questioning the Chief Minister’s stand on the issue.
In a post on X , Para said the recent orders to monitor and restrict social media activity in J&K contradicted the spirit of the election that, according to him, was fought to “end silence, fear, and suffocation.”“The election in Jammu & Kashmir was fought to end silence, fear, and suffocation. People didn’t vote for control, they voted for dignity and the right to speak without fear,” Para wrote. “Yet today, fresh orders to monitor and restrict social media are being issued selectively only in Jammu & Kashmir, nowhere else in India.”
He further asked, “What is the Chief Minister’s stand on this? What does the CM, who also holds the Information portfolio, have to say?”The PDP leader accused the government of using “vigilance and monitoring” as a pretext to intimidate journalists and suppress free expression. “This exposes a disturbing intent to control narratives, muzzle truth, and drag J&K further into a surveillance regime,” he said.
Calling for transparency, openness, and accountability, Para stressed that Jammu and Kashmir “deserves openness, not oppression; transparency, not targeting.” He added that the purpose of the election was to restore trust and dignity, not to replace one silence with another. PDP leader contended that the Jammu and Kashmir government’s decision to reintroduce social media monitoring orders goes against the purpose of the recent elections.
Making his point, he said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had voted to end silence and fear, not to face renewed restrictions on speech. He said the decision to monitor social media activities only in J&K raised questions about fairness and intent.“The people voted for dignity and the freedom to speak. Yet new directions have been issued to track and limit online activities, and such orders are not being enforced in any other part of the country,” Para wrote.
He asked the Chief Minister to clarify the government’s position, pointing out that the CM also holds the Information Department portfolio. “It is important to know what the Chief Minister thinks about these new measures,” he said.Para said that the use of “vigilance” and “monitoring” under administrative directives was being turned into a tool to restrict journalists and silence voices. He said that these actions go against the idea of open governance and the trust that elections were meant to restore.
Calling for openness in governance, Para said that Jammu and Kashmir needs transparency and accountability. He said that the elections were meant to restore confidence among people, not to create another form of silence.
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