CHANDIGARH: The Editor of leading news portal PunjabNewsExpress.com, Satinderjit Singh Bains, has accused the Punjab Government of acting with “political malice” after the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) abruptly cancelled the news portal’s empanelment for government advertisements. Bains termed the move an “attempt to gag independent journalism and silence critical voices in the state.”
Bains, whose portal has been empanelled with the Punjab Government for several years, in a letter to IPR Minister, Mr.Harjot Singh Bains, Secretary in charge of the IPRD and Director IPRD said he had received a one-year extension on October 22, 2025, after completing all formalities required under the policy. However, he was shocked to receive another letter on November 19, stating that the empanelment stood cancelled as he allegedly did not meet the policy conditions.
“No reason or deficiency was mentioned. This action is arbitrary, politically motivated, and a direct attack on freedom of the press, ” Bains said, adding that the sudden U-turn by the government reflected “pressure from the ruling dispensation.” It is a direct assault on press freedom, he aded.
According to Bains, PunjabNewsExpress.com has been giving balanced coverage of government activities, including statements and programs of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. At the same time, the portal has also been publishing criticism from opposition parties, reports on public grievances, and stories on governance failures such as illegal mining, drug cartels, and gangster activity.
Bains said that his recent investigative stories about the interference of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the day-to-day functioning of the Punjab Government may have triggered the punitive action. “This cancellation is clearly politically driven. The government wants to muzzle media houses that do not toe the official line, ” he alleged.
The senior journalist said that instead of responding to issues raised in the media, the government was choosing to target journalists who highlight uncomfortable truths. “Media in Punjab is being discouraged from speaking against government policies. If questioning power becomes a crime, democracy itself is under threat, ” he said.
Bains has demanded an immediate review of the decision and restoration of the empanelment, calling the move “illegal, opaque, and undemocratic.”
The DIPR has not issued any explanation beyond the brief communication sent to the portal. The abrupt cancellation has sparked concerns among journalist circles over shrinking media freedom in the state. Though the department had not issued any advertisement to Punjabnewsexpress.com during the last about two years, the cancellation of empanelment is a punitive action