The YSR Congress Party on Friday dismissed concerns that the government was attempting to stifle the freedom of the press through a Government Order that was passed recently.
“There is no truth to the news that has appeared in a section of the media that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is trying to trample upon the freedom of the press,” YSRCP State spokesman and Anakapalle MLA Gudivada Amarnath said here on Friday.
“No government can curb the freedom of the press as it is guaranteed by the Constitution. But at the same time, false and malicious campaigns against the YSRCP government would not be tolerated. The Government Order was issued by the State government to empower the Secretaries of the respective departments to initiate action against false news being spread to malign the image of the government,” Mr. Amarnath told a media conference here on Friday.
“The Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department, which has been entrusted with the task of issuing rejoinders, may not always be in a position to initiate action against various departments. While false campaigns would not be tolerated, the media is free to expose the mistakes committed by ruling party leaders or the government,” Mr. Amarnath said.
He added that the media is welcome to play the role of a ‘constructive opposition’ to alleviate the problems of the people.
Referring to the CBI court striking down the plea of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy seeking exemption from personal appearance in the court, Mr. Amarnath said that even this was being politicised by a section of the media.
‘Will move High Court’
The party would move the High Court in this regard, he added.
“The YSRCP government has passed 19 Bills within a short span of five months after assuming power. Reverse tendering resulted in a saving of ₹800 crore of public money,” Mr. Amarnath said.
On Pawan Kalyan’s proposed long march to highlight the scarcity of sand, Mr. Amarnath said it was an open secret that Jana Sena Party and the TDP were together since 2014, and said this would be the ‘last march’ of the JSP.
