A roundtable conference on G.O. 2430, issued by the State government giving powers to secretaries of various departments to file cases against the media houses write adverse reports on the functioning of the government, turned into a house of heated arguments on Saturday at the Press Club here. YSR Congress MLC Vennapoosa Gopal Reddy said those who write news without any proper information or supporting documents, will definitely face the music and those criticising the government with proper information need not fear of any loss of freedom.
Some media houses in the name of caste creed and political affiliations had been putting State government in trouble by wrongly targeting it, said Mr. Gopal Reddy and added that such situation had to be firmly handled with such G.O.
Telugu Desam Party former minister Kalava Srinivasulu, however, criticised the government stand and said it was illegal to curb the rights of media. Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had never restricted freedom of the media, he said. The roundtable was organised by Andhra Pradesh Working Journalists Federation decided to tell the government to repeal such a G.O. and maintain the press freedom.
