Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, said that the Centre had taken serious note of the blockade of two Telugu channels by MSOs, following the airing of objectionable content against legislators. However, media persons have been asked to await the decision of the Centre in the matter till the completion of the by-election to Medak Parliamentary constituency on Saturday.
Answering a question at a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Javadekar said the Centre will see after two days what action can be taken “duly and legally” against the multiple system operators (MSOs) for non-compliance with the order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which had sought resumption of programmes on the channels within an hour. The channels had restored the programmes promptly on the order but stopped airing them within two hours. “We are in the middle of elections and we have to focus on that now,” Mr. Javadekar remarked.
He warned that freedom of the press entailed responsibility. The Government is bound to protect freedom of the press if it is enjoyed in a responsible manner.
He also said freedom of press was the soul of a democracy. Nobody can tinker with it because it is the essential ingredient for the success of a democracy. He also said that the government would not allow anyone to wreak havoc with media freedom. Right from the time of the British Raj when Lokmanya Tilak was put behind bars for writing against the government, people have suffered for similar writings. But that suffering brought real freedom to the press. The trampling of press freedom was also noticed during the Emergency in 1975 when several people went to jail.
The Minister was explained the comments of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao against the media at a public meeting in Warangal two days ago but he did not respond, saying he had not heard them.
