THE Communist Part of India-Marxist (CPI-M) accused the government today of “a blatant attempt to intimidate and suppress” opposition voices following raids on the offices of digital news portal Newsclick.

In a statement, the party condemned the “vindictive action” by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which also raided the homes of the media organisation’s editor and owner.

“The ED action is a blatant attempt to intimidate and suppress an independent news portal. Newsclick has been providing credible and wide coverage of the farmers protests,” the CPI-M said.

Officials confirmed that the ED had conducted operations, including searches of at least eight homes, in connection with a money-laundering probe.

The raids were attempts to collect more evidence, the officials claimed.

Sources said that the investigations into Newsclick were linked to suspected foreign funding and the role of a “defunct company”  – shut for about the last two years – which was allegedly used to transact funds worth over 300 million rupees (about £2.98m).

DIGIPUB, an umbrella organisation of news websites, issued a statement saying that the action aimed to “suppress journalism critical of the government and its allies.

“Newsclick has always upheld the highest standards of journalistic integrity and speaking truth to power. Its commendable journalistic work seeking to hold power accountable speaks for itself,” the group said.

“Such use of state agencies to intimidate journalists and suppress adversarial journalism is detrimental to not only the freedom of the press but also the very idea of democratic accountability. Everyone emerges poorer in the long run.”

The CPI-M demanded “an end to the vindictive action against Newsclick and its management.”

Scores of journalists have been detained and websites closed, while social media accounts supporting months of protests by farmers have been shut down in a government bid to silence opposition.