Governor H.R. Bhardwaj called upon the media to stay loyal to the truth and stressed the importance of freedom of the press and the judiciary. “If they are controlled, then society will have to a pay a huge price,” he said.
Addressing a gathering after launching Sarang, 107.8 MHz, the community radio channel of St. Aloysius College here on Wednesday, Mr. Bhardwaj asked the media to remain alert, vigilant and independent.
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He also said that the brotherhood between communities in the city was perceptible. “Let no force on earth disturb this relationship between people,” he said and urged the people to strengthen the fabric of the nation, adding that Karnataka was a holy land for all religions.
Mr. Bhardwaj said that he was a secular person. “It is too late for me to change my mind despite pressure from (certain) quarters which are powerful,” he said.
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“I have come here [to Karnataka] on a mission that the State should prosper and shine. People should be united and [a] sense of unity should prevail,” he said.
He also said that elections were fought on party basis and once they were over, the people’s mandate should be respected.
As students were the future leaders of the country, he called upon them to protect the national ethos.
Programmes
Principal Swebert D’Silva said that Sarang would mainly broadcast educational programmes for those who could not afford higher education by attending college.
The programmes would be broadcast between 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. daily in Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, English, Malayalam and Beary languages, he said.
The radio station would be managed by the college’s Department of Mass Communication and Media Studies, Fr. D’Silva said.
Home Minister V. S. Acharya; Union Minister for Law and Justice M. Veerappa Moily; Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP; U. T. Khader, MLA; Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop of Mangalore; and Francis Serrao, president of the Karnataka Jesuit Educational Society, were present.