Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju on Friday appointed a three-member committee to inquire into the remarks of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao allegedly against the media.
In an order communicated to the media, Mr. Katju said that on the basis of material available in the public domain, he believed that Mr. Rao’s remarks “amount to intimidation of media personnel under threat of dire consequences and violate the fundamental right of freedom of expression and speech.”
The panel comprises senior journalists, with Rajeev Ranjan Nag as convener and K. Amarnath and Krishna Prasad of the Outlook magazine as members. It was asked to investigate if Mr. Rao made the statements attributed to him that he would break the necks of, and bury underground, mediapersons and that “they should salute the Telangana people if they wish to live in Telangana”; if there was any threat perception to the media in the State; and what steps were necessary for the media’s protection there.
The order was in response to complaints from representatives of the Indian Journalists Union and its affiliate, the Telangana Union of Working Journalists.
