Gagging of media will boomerang: Dattatreya

Nation Building Foundation holds interactive session on freedom of press

Hyderabad: An interactive session on ‘Indian Constitution and Freedom of Press’ was organised by Nation Building Foundation here on Wednesday.

Addressing the session, Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya, who was the chief guest, said the freedom of press was non-negotiable and it was unfortunate that the debate was being raised even after 67 years of Independence.He said media always reflected the views of the public and helped political parties to formulate their policies.

“Gagging of media will ultimately boomerang on the government,” Dattatreya said obliquely referring to ban of two channels in Telangana. Prajashakti editor of Telangana edition, S Veeraiah said the functioning of the journalists changed after the newspapers became the corporate entity. More than the State, the corporate bodies were curtailing the freedom of the press. He said however, it was the people who ultimately protected the freedom of press.

“But we have to introspect whether the journalists are with the people and highlighting their problems. The poor response to the ban on two channels indicated that the media is distancing from people and their movements,” Veeraiah said.

Similar opinion was expressed by another journalist K Srinivasa Rao, who expressed concern over manhandling of Rajdeep Sardesai at Madison Square.

Indian Journalist Union president K Srinivasa Reddy said several attempts were made to gag the press.

“There was Bihar Press Bill, Indira Gandhi imposed emergency and Rajiv Gandhi too made attempts to silence the press. Closer home, NT Rama Rao too tried his hand after stories appeared in the name of his family members,” he said.

Reddy said there was no need to amend the constitution on the lines of the first amendment of US Constitution since Article 19(1) of the Directive Principle of State Policy envisaged freedom of expression and speech. The freedom of press was inbuilt in this Article, he pointed out.

Another veteran scribe Devulapalli Amar said the political parties were getting intolerant and undemocratic and trying to influence the media through intimidation. Founder president of the Nation Building Foundation Krishna Sagar Rao said media always reflected the public resentment against the government. With the introduction of social media and other technological innovations, the question of freedom was being frequently debated, he said.

Former minister Nagam Janardhan Reddy said a government would never survive curtailing the media freedom.