Opposition parties have moved a motion in the Rajya Sabha to hold a debate on “how to strengthen freedom of press”.
This the second united effort from the Opposition in the House where the seat arithmetic is fast changing in favour of the treasury benches.
The debate is likely to be held on July 10.
Sixteen parties have signed the motion and the signatories include BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and YSR Congress members who have been leaning in favour of the BJP in most of the battles.
The debate is likely to be initiated by Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar. Other signatories to the motion include the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties, the DMK, the SP and the BSP among others.
“We have been getting complaints that journalists are working under severe pressure from the ruling dispensation. Their freedom to report critically about the government is severely curtailed,” a top Opposition leader said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi during the recent election campaign had blamed “pliable” media for only running the government’s agenda. After the elections, the Congress has taken a deliberate decision not to send their spokespersons for TV debates, because the party felt that the debates were set around only the BJP’s agenda.
The recent 10 per cent hike in the Customs duty of newsprint will be part of the debate. The Opposition parties are also likely to raise the issue of fake news. They had moved a motion to debate electoral reforms and the debate was held on Wednesday last. The parties though have not had a formal introspection meeting post the Lok Sabha debacle.
“We have started the dialogue among ourselves. The decision to take up a debate on press freedom came from the debate on electoral reforms. We felt that press, the fourth pillar of democracy, played a critical role to tilt the battle in favour of the BJP,” a Left MP said.
