Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says government is ‘undemocratic’ and suffered from ‘megalomania’.

Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday accused the government of using ‘suppressive’ tactics against the media by using its power over government advertisements.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mr. Chowdhury said the government was being ‘undemocratic’ and suffered from ‘megalomania.’

He said that from March this year the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) had been ordered to stop giving advertisements to publications like The Hindu for the critical reports that the newspaper carried on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal.

Mr. Chowdhury said that though the DAVP had started following a transparent digital system whereby media publications were given passwords, these were deactivated for some media houses critical of the government.

Apart from The Hindu, Mr. Chowdhury alleged that the government had stopped giving advertisements to the Times of India, Economic Times, The Telegraph and the Ananda Bazaar Patrika group.

The allegations by the Congress leader drew sharp reactions from the Treasury benches who protested his remarks. When Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called the name of the next member to raise his issue during Zero Hour, the Congress members started protesting as Mr. Chowdhury wanted more time to speak further.