New Delhi: A group of journalists, under the banner of Tamil Nadu Digital Journalists Union (TNDJU), came together on Monday (September 8) outside Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore, Chennai, to condemn the oppression of journalists and the repressive actions by the Assam Police against senior journalists, including The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan and consulting editor Karan Thapar.The event was coordinated by chief organiser of TNDJU, journalist Indrakumar Theradi. Prominent senior journalists, including N. Ram of The Hindu Group, Nakkheeran Gopal, Suresh Vedanayagam (president of Chennai Press Club), and Haseef (general secretary of Chennai Press Club), participated and delivered powerful speeches.Carrying banners like ‘Save Journalists, Save Democracy’ and ‘Abolish BNS 152′, the protesters demonstrated against the BJP-led governments’ continued crackdown on journalists, and in particular, denounced sedition cases filed against senior journalists Karan Thapar and Siddharth Varadarajan, as well as a case against journalist Ajit Anjum who exposed videos regarding alleged malpractices in SIR process.Senior journalists protest on sedition cases against journalists, at Egmore, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Photo: By arrangementSpeaking at the protest, Vedanayagam, president of the Chennai Press Club, said that IPC Section 124(A), which was introduced by the British East India Company, “has been replaced by the Gujarat Company’s brutal BNS 152”. He highlights how despite the Supreme Court granting interim relief to Karan Thapar and Siddharth Varadarajan, the BNS 152 cases filed by the Assam police remain unaltered.Pointing out why the top court, which previously stayed the use of IPC 124(A), has not prohibited BNS 152, he accused the BJP of disregarding judicial directives. He extended the Chennai Press Club’s support for TNDJU.Veteran journalist N. Ram said that these cases were being carried out to instil fear among journalists. He cautioned that the BJP’s broadcasting bill, though temporarily stalled and under review by a standing committee, remains a potential threat to journalists. He also critiqued the IT Act’s misuse and clarified that those spreading misinformation, regardless of medium, are not true journalists.Veteran journalist N. Ram of The Hindu Group at the protest. Photo: By arrangementSharing an anecdote about Nakkeeran Gopal, he noted that no Indian journalist has likely faced as many legal cases as Nakkheeran Gopal, who remained steadfast in his values.Meanwhile, Nakkeeran Gopal praised Tamil Nadu for organising such protests against BJP’s oppressive tactics, saying it remains a stronghold for defending freedom of speech. He urged the TNDJU to register officially and continue organising events, pledging his full support until such oppressive measures are withdrawn.Senior journalist Nakkheeran Gopal at the protest, in Chennai. Photo: By arrangementThe speakers stressed the need for expressing solidarity more effectively through collective action, going beyond issuing statements.Earlier, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin had also condemned the action of the Assam Police. In a post on X, Stalin had said that Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was being “misused as a substitute for the repealed sedition law to suppress independent journalism”. “A democracy cannot survive if asking questions is treated as sedition,” he had said.Speakers talk about the oppression of press freedom at the protest at Egmore, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Photo: By arrangementOn August 22, the Supreme Court granted protection from coercive action to Varadarajan and Thapar and all staff in an FIR registered by the Crime Branch, Guwahati, under Section 152 of the BNS after the Assam Police filed a second case invoking sedition law against the news platform in three months.At the time of the ‘summon’ notice, they were not provided a copy of the FIR, not even its date or the gist of its contents. It was only on August 20 – two days before they had been summoned to appear before the crime branch in Guwahati – that The Wire was able to obtain a copy of the FIR.Earlier on August 27, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists had also staged a protest against Assam police’s sedition cases against senior journalists.