The government is planning to bring in a law for making submission of complaints by the public a right as part of bridging the gap between the people and authorities, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.
He was addressing the State conference of the Senior Journalist Forum here on Saturday.
“People have the right to submit their grievances to Ministers and officials. The proposed law will reduce the gap between the people and the power centres.” he said. The Right to Information Act had given a huge scope for the people to know the facts. But that Act did not reduce the responsibility of the media, he added.
“However, now there is apprehension over the credibility of the media. The media becomes part of democracy when it uses its power with responsibility and accuracy,” he said. The government would consider favourably the issues of journalists, including anomalies in the pension scheme. Senior Journalists Forum president P.A. Alexander urged the government to increase the journalist pension from Rs.8,000 to Rs.10,000.
