Kerala govt withdraws gag order for scientists with 'immediate effect'

In a statement on Thursday night, Pinarayi Vijayan said the news that the SDMA had directed scientific institutions and scientists not to visit the disaster-affected Meppadi panchayat in Wayanad and not to express their opinions was misleading.

The clarification comes even as the BJP targeted the Kerala government for the alleged gag order.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya alleged that “emergency & censorship come naturally to communists”.

In a post on social media platform X, Tejasvi Surya wrote, “An atrocious order has been passed by Kerala Govt restraining Science & Tech institutions from field visits as well as sharing details & reports of disaster affected areas.”