Right now, there are two 'Shahs' in the news. The Madhya Pradesh Shah and the Gujarat Samachar Shah. The Madhya Pradesh Shah spoke words of derision and ill-will against an Army 'hero' and the Gujarat Samachar Shah allegedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Madhya Pradesh Shah is a free-bird. The 73-year-old Gujarat Shah is in the crosshair of the Enforcement Directorate's best-kept ill-intentions! .

Different strokes for different Shahs! One is a cabinet minister in the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh, immune to arrest and incarceration. The other is a 'Bahubali' in every sense of the word, with a pen mightier than the sword and, therefore, should be and must be silenced,

Contrast the treatment meted out to Bahubali Shah and the Madhya Pradesh Shah and the discrimination stands out like a stand of Aspen in a forest of Willows. The high court took suo moto notice of the Madhya Pradesh Shah and an FIR was lodged. The matter also reached the Supreme Court.

The Madhya Pradesh Shah remains scot-free. But late night on May 15, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Gujarat's Bahubali Shah, owner of 'Gujarat Samachar', alleging financial fraud. Those who believe in the freedom of the Press and the Freedom of Expression, two freedoms which the Modi dispensation is not friendly with, have come out in solidarity with Bahubali Shah.

Bahubali Shah's arrest came at a time when the nation is at War. The independent media calls the ED arrest of Bahubali Shah a "crime". The Press Club of India, the Indian Women's Press Corps, the Press Association, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, have all condemned the ED's arrest of Bahubali Shah.

Bahubali Shantilal Shah is the managing director of Lok Prakashan Limited, which brings out the ‘Gujarat Samachar’, which is a widely circulated daily published from Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

A Gujarat court granted Bahubali Shah interim bail on May 16. The ED has been dogging Bahubali Shah since 2016. In 2023 a probe was initiated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for alleged misuse of funds. This time, too, ED carried out search operations at several locations of Lok Prakashan. The Income Tax (I-T) Department also launched simultaneous raids in Mumbai, Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

Shah's supporters allege hanky-panky. Earlier this month, Gujarat Samachar’s official 'X' account was withheld without any reason cited. The "hanky-panky" refuses to go away. So-called anti-Modi media haven't escaped retribution from the Modi dispensation. The latest "victims" include 'The Wire', which was "blocked".

It is not known how and when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was targeted or smeared by 'Gujarat Samachar' but the opposition INDI-Alliance is convinced 'Gujarat Samachar' is being singled out for speaking truth to power. The Congress says “politics of fear” has now become the Modi government's "identity."

“Modi recently said in an interview that criticism was the soul of democracy. Gujarat Samachar is a 93-year-old organisation. Modi has proved that arresting critics is the first sign of a scared dictator! Anyone who raises a voice against this government or does not compromise with the BJP will have to go to jail,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge charged the government with. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it was an attempt to “silence” Gujarat Samachar and suppress the voice of not just one newspaper, but entire democracy.

Bahubali Shah was granted interim bail on grounds of ill-health. The state Congress says the Gujarat Samachar always stood for truth and has been "showing the mirror to the BJP government and PM Modi" including on the government's handling of the India-Pakistan war. “We don’t know why they are treating us like someone from the underworld… After all these years, what happened all of a sudden?” a relative of Bahubali Shah said.

Gujarat Samachar is 97 years old and is read across Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra. The Gujarat Samachar website has an average daily readership at 4.6 million but when 'Operation Sindoor' was launched, the 'X' handle of Gujarat Samachar was suspended! The ED says “Shah’s custodial interrogation is necessary” and Bahubali Shah's relatives echo the words of the Congress: "Arresting critics is the first sign of a scared dictator."

For the time being, Bahubali Shantilal Shah has been granted interim bail and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is, indeed, a "scared dictator", his troubles have only just begun. Lots of people are convinced that whoever raises his/her voice against the Modi government and does not "compromise with the BJP" will have to go to jail. Bahubali Shah will have to get regular bail to escape that fate. Unfortunately, for him, he isn't the Madhya Pradesh Shah, but the Gujarat Samachar Shah! (IPA Service)