Worst Sufferer of Political Vendetta: CM Suvendu Adhikari Announces Withdrawal of All 31 Cases Against Republic Bangla

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced that all cases registered against Republic Bangla will be withdrawn, terming the media network the "worst sufferer of political vendetta" in West Bengal.

Adhikari stated that the news channel had been subjected to targeted legal action under the previous administration, with 31 distinct cases lodged against its journalists and management over recent years.

“Worst Sufferer of Political Vendetta”
Speaking at the Republic Bangla Summit 2026, Adhikari stood firmly with the media network, condemning the continuous legal pressure used to suppress independent journalism in the state.

He declared that the legal actions against Republic Bangla were politically motivated measures intended to intimidate the press and restrict reporting on state governance.

End to Multi-Year Legal Battles
Republic Bangla has faced numerous police complaints, notices, and legal proceedings registered across several police stations in West Bengal in recent years. The network and its representatives consistently maintained that the FIRs and investigations were an abuse of state machinery designed to silence critical coverage.

With Adhikari formally committing to dropping the pending charges, the administration signals a major shift toward dismantling cases filed against news outlets and media personnel under past political disputes.

“We Control the Media Here”

Speaking at the same event, Republic Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami also shared the challenges and intimidation he faced when he planned to started Republic Bangla around 5 years back. He revealed that not only were false cases brought against him, his anchors arrested, but he was told off by the people in the highest echelons of power in the state that he cannot start a channel in West Bengal, with one of them stating, “we control the media here”. 

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