Journalists from various groups and organisations held a protest march at the Press Club Hyderabad against the one-day ban imposed on NDTV India by the Information and Broadcast Ministry for allegedly violating the code under the Indian broadcast law. In a late evening development, the Government has put the ban on hold.
Members raised slogans seeking immediate withdrawal of the decision and termed it as a direct attack on the Freedom of the Press. “Threatening the media under the garb of patriotism cannot be tolerated and it reflects the intolerance of the Government,” they said further adding that this was only the beginning of such steps by the Government against the media.
Indian Journalists Union (IJU) secretary-general D. Amar said it was time the journalists stood united or else the governments will continue to bring pressure on the media using similar tactics. Former resident editor of The Hindu S. Nagesh Kumar explained how the Government was equating media freedom with patriotism to justify its undemocratic decision.
PCI member K. Amarnath said it was unfortunate that the ban is being supported by Union I&B Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, who spent time in jail during Emergency when the then Congress Government imposed restrictions on media. “Media freedom cannot be compromised as it is the root of sustaining Indian democracy,” he said. Senior journalists R. Dileep Reddy, Uma Sudheer, K. Amaraiah and former Press Club presidents A. Suresh Kumar and R. Ravikanth Reddy also spoke. Press Club president Rajamouli Chary, secretary Vijay Kumar Reddy and others participated.
