Vajpayee govt slammed for assaulting Press
Senior parliamentarians denounce the government's vindictive and
intimidatory tactics against the media, reports Venkat Parsa
New Delhi, July 5The Vajpayee Government was slammed for initiating a "concerted assault" on the media, including the press, TV and Internet portals. Apparently, the strategy is to intimidate the independent media through the use of police and other Government agencies in violation of ethics and Constitutional provisions, including Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens of the country.
Eight senior parliamentarians, former Union ministers Eduardo Faleiro and Girija Vyas (Congress), Janeshwar Mishra (Samajwadi Party), Kuldip Nayar (Nominated), former Union Minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia (Independent), Kartar Singh Duggal (Nominated), Basudeb Acharya and Hannan Mullah (CPM) said that the Tehelka.Com had captured on the tapes Defence officials accepting bribes for arms contracts.
The Tehelka expose was an outstanding example of investigative journalism and it had led to the resignation of the then BJP president Bangaru Lakshman and Union Defence Minister George Fernandes. This news portal is now being subjected to intense harassment by several Government agencies with the sole aim that it should close down.
The Chief of Bureau of the daily, Kashmir Times, Ifthikar Geelani was arrested last month under the Official Secrets Act for having in his possession some documents, which are otherwise available on the Internet since 1997. The Vajpayee Government must disclose the charges and evidence against Ifthikar Geelani, otherwise release him forthwith, in the absence of proof of any wrongdoing.
Soon after the leading magazine Outlook published a series of articles critical of the Sangh Parivar, its offices were raided in what was obviously a case of vendetta. Last February and March, after the NDTV news channel broadcast a video of the communal riots in Gujarat, senior Government officials of magnifying with its reports the Gujarat events accused it.
"As part of this strategy to manufacture support for the Government and destroy the independent press, the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) has recently under the guise of a new advertisement policy removed from its panel for granting advertisements some 3800 newspapers, which about one-third of the Indian Press," they said.
"Transparency and not arbitrariness should be the hallmark of any advertisement policy. The new advertisement policy cannot be termed to be objective or fair," they said. They demanded that it should be withdrawn immediately and be substituted by the Draft Advertisement Policy proposed by the Press Council of India in 1995-96and it should be finalised only after due deliberations by Parliament.
In the meanwhile the old advertisement policy of DAVP should continue and the approximately 3800 newspapers depanelled by the so-called new advertisement policy should be restored for grant of advertisements. The Vajpayee Government, they demanded, must retrace its steps and refrain from its tendency to harass journalists and tamper with the freedom of the Press. In case of any breach of journalistic norms, the Vajpayee Government should refer it to the Press Council of India, which is the appropriate statutory body to deal with such matters rather than use the police and such other agencies to intimidate and harass. "Freedom the Press is first and foremost the freedom of the citizens to obtain truthful information. A free press means a free people," they added.
tehelka.com
