Criticising the action of the AP police in serving legal notice on T News channel, senior journalists have demanded that AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ease his attempts to “terrorise and mute the press”. They held protest meetings across the State on Saturday to express their solidarity with the channel.
At a round-table here, attended by more than 20 senior journalists of print and electronic media, they condemned the move of the AP police to “suppress voices of dissent” that emerge out of Telangana. “The Telangana agitation was a movement against oppression and it is an irony that we still have to fight the same even after the formation of the new State,” said Narayana Reddy, CEO of T News. If the move to use police against the press is not stopped, democracy itself will come to a standstill, said R. Dileep Reddy, executive editor of Sakshi .
The journalists wanted the AP government to withdraw notices that were served, evoking section 5 r/w rules (6) of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act-1995 that is meant to prevent airing content that creates enmity within Telugu linguistic communities. “The AP police entered the office of a TV news channel without any provocation to serve notices. Mr. Naidu is only brewing enmity between the two States by unleashing the police against the media,” said Allam Narayana, Press Academy Chairman.
The AP government should slap cases against media organisations only if police investigation finds them culpable of airing unscrupulous content aimed at criminal defamation, they said. At a demonstration by journalists at the AP Secretariat, member of Press Council of India, K. Amarnath, and Indian Journalists Union leader, Devulapalli Amar, demanded that the notices be withdrawn by the AP police. Describing the act as undemocratic with an intention to threaten the employees of the news channel, Mr. Amar said it is needless because an inquiry is on in the cash-for-vote case and the law would take its own course.
Finding fault with the AP police for serving notices on Friday midnight, Mr. Amarnath said they could have been served during the day time. It is an attempt to browbeat the media, he said, and asserted that the media need not reveal the source of its information. He said serving notices on a TV news channel is an attempt to curtail freedom of expression.
The Telangana agitation was a movement against oppression and it is an irony that we still have to fight the same even after the formation of the new State
Narayana Reddy,
CEO of T News
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu is brewing enmity between the two States by unleashing the police against the media
Allam Narayana,
Press Academy Chairman.
The media need not reveal the source of its information
K. Amarnath
Member of Press Council of India
