Punjab witnessed a major uproar on Sunday morning after newspaper deliveries across several districts were delayed, triggering accusations of censorship against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The delays reportedly occurred after police conducted night-long checks on vehicles carrying newspapers and other goods.
While the Punjab Police maintained that the operation was a security measure based on intelligence inputs, Opposition parties accused the AAP government of attempting to suppress media coverage of the ongoing &ldquo;Sheesh Mahal 2.0&rdquo; controversy involving party leader Arvind Kejriwal.
In an official statement, the police said that vehicle checks were carried out under the supervision of senior officers at selected points and were part of routine security drills. &ldquo;Punjab continues to face threats from cross-border smuggling of contraband, arms, and explosives. These checks are necessary to maintain internal security and prevent anti-national activities,&rdquo; the statement read.
However, political opponents were unconvinced. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring called the move &ldquo;a serious attack on press freedom and public safety,&rdquo; while senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa described the raids on newspaper vans as &ldquo;a chilling attack on democracy.&rdquo; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Raids on newspaper delivery vans across Punjab are a chilling attack on press freedom. The media that built <a href="https://twitter.com/AAPPunjab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AAPPunjab</a> is now being hounded by it &mdash; just as Modi targets voices that question him.<a href="https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArvindKejriwal</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BhagwantMann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BhagwantMann</a> are walking the same path as Modi. Both have no&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/BG2DQsmuD3">pic.twitter.com/BG2DQsmuD3</a>
&mdash; Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) <a href="https://twitter.com/Partap_Sbajwa/status/1984879539944898830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2025</a></blockquote>

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Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the government &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t want anyone writing against them&rdquo; and vowed to oppose such &ldquo;dictatorial actions.&rdquo; The BJP&rsquo;s state working president Ashwini Sharma went further, calling the incident &ldquo;an undeclared Emergency in Punjab,&rdquo; and claimed the government panicked after reports linking Kejriwal to a luxurious government accommodation dubbed Sheesh Mahal 2.0. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Shiromani Akali Dal stands for the freedom of the media. We will not allow <a href="https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AamAadmiParty</a> to muzzle the voice of the media by seizing all copies of daily newspapers as they did today. ▪️We will oppose such dictatorial actions aimed at preventing the truth from reaching the&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/cXFQZLV0mM">pic.twitter.com/cXFQZLV0mM</a>
&mdash; Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) <a href="https://twitter.com/officeofssbadal/status/1984931517551050776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2025</a></blockquote>

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The controversy stems from BJP&rsquo;s recent allegations that Delhi&rsquo;s former Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal was provided a lavish, seven-star residence in Punjab despite holding no official post in the state government. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann dismissed the accusations, clarifying that the house in question is a designated government property functioning as his camp office, and accused the BJP of spreading &ldquo;dirty propaganda.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Press Club strongly condemned the police action, calling it an &ldquo;attack on press freedom.&rdquo; The journalists&rsquo; body said that in districts like Gurdaspur, Patiala, Amritsar, and Hoshiarpur, newspaper delivery vehicles were stopped or detained, delaying or halting distribution altogether.
&ldquo;These actions undermine the free flow of information and amount to harassment of media personnel,&rdquo; the Press Club said in a statement, urging the Punjab government to ensure unhindered newspaper distribution and protect the constitutional right to a free press.
As political tempers rise, the Punjab Police reiterated that security operations would continue &ldquo;with diligence and minimal inconvenience to the public,&rdquo; insisting that the need for an active internal security grid &ldquo;cannot be overemphasised&rdquo; in the current environment.

Censorship row in Punjab over newspaper delays

Police cite security checks; Opposition accuses AAP govt of silencing media

Censorship row in Punjab over newspaper delays

Police cite security checks; Opposition accuses AAP govt of silencing media

November 3, 2025 | 24:48 IST