YSRCP govt stifling voice of media: Chandrababu Naidu
Guntur: TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday alleged that the YSRCP government was stifling the voice of media.
The government has also delegated powers to the Information Department officials to file defamation cases against the media houses, electronic media and social media which exposed misdeeds of the government, Naidu pointed out.
Addressing a press conference at the TDP State office here on Friday, he recalled that former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara's Reddy government had issued GO No.938 to suppress the voice of the media during his tenure.
His son Jagan Mohan Reddy was implementing the same GO now, the TDP supremo said. Naidu said that YS Rajasekhara Reddy subsequently withdrew the GO following pressure from the media houses and Opposition TDP.
Naidu said Jagan was threatening the media houses which were exposing his failures and corruption of YSRCP government. He pointed out that reporter of a vernacular daily K Satyanarayana was murdered in East Godavari district a few days back.
He said the government has initiated steps to take back 1.5 acres of land allotted to Telugu daily Andhra Jyothi at Paradesipalem near Vizag. Editor of 'Zameen Rythu,' Prasad, was threatened by Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy.
Explaining about the freedom enjoyed by the media in the country, he recalled that journalist Chitra Subramaniam exposed Bofors scam and the then Indian Express publisher Ramnath Goenka fought against imposition of Emergency in the country.
"The Opposition in the country will question misdeeds and failures of the government and there is nothing wrong in it," Naidu said. He demanded that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy withdraw curbs on media immediately.
He announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the family members of scribe K Satyanarayana who was brutally murdered in East Godavari district. He further said that due to non-availability of sand, lakhs of construction workers lost their livelihood in the State.