Somireddy slams gag order, seeks immediate withdrawal

Nellore: TDP senior leader and former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy demanded the state government to roll back the GO No 2430 through which aims to muzzle the voice of media.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, he accused the government of resorting to threats even against the media in utter disregard for democratic norms.

Chandramohan Reddy said that the government led by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had prepared GO 938 in 2007 but kept it in abeyance following strong objections from opposition and others but now the state government brought the GO implementing the contents of the same GO.

He said the similar attempt to silence the media was made during Rajiv Gandhi's rule but then government was forced to drop the Black Bill in view of the huge uproar across the country.

"This is being done to intimidate the media which is exposing failures of the government and even social media was also included in its purview.

Rulers should note that the journalists across the country are going to oppose this move. It seems people gave the YSRCP 151 seats for imposing unannounced emergency in the state making them voiceless," observed the TDP leader.

He said the Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy gave warning to the media on the day of assuming office itself which hasn't been seen anywhere across the country earlier.

Telecast of some television channels was also blocked until TRAI took the issue seriously and imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakhs per day, he said.

On Somasila project brimming with water, Chandramohan Reddy said that filling of Somasila was a good sign and it should be credited to the vision of former chief minister N T Rama Rao. Now, 146 tmc ft of water is available both in Somasila and Kandaleru reservoirs and this is a history in which the role of the TDP is valuable.

He said that there were no pending forest clearances for the project and hence the government was able to store water to its full capacity. He said they had brought clearances for Telugu Ganga project in 2015 and the ayacut increased from one lakh to 2.30 lakh.