The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has issued a statement on January 28 protesting against former minister Mahesh Basnet's threats to various media editors at a public event in Butwal on January 26 stating it as direct interference in the freedom of the press.

He had publicly threatened Sudhir Sharma, the editor-in-chief of Kantipur, Om Sharma, the editor-in-chief of Ratopati and Hari Bahadur Thapa, the editor of Ikagaj, saying that some media outlets had spread chaos in the name of democracy.