The Press Council of India will hold a public hearing here on the alleged gag statements made by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao to media houses. Scheduled to be held on September 16 at a hotel near the Chief Minister’s Camp Office in Begumpet, the public hearing will take the views of the journalists concerned.
The Council has set up a three-member committee to probe into the alleged violation of Article 19 (1) of the Constitution in the Chief Minister’s statements.
Addressing the Centenary celebrations of poet Kaloji Narayana Rao in Warangal last week, the Chief Minister reportedly said he would “break the necks and bury underground mediapersons” if they insulted Telangana culture and did not salute people of Telangana.
This triggered a nation-wide furore, with senior journalists like Kuldip Nayyar criticising the Chief Minister for trying to maim the media.
The other two points of reference for the committee set up on September 12 included whether there was any threat perception to the media in Telangana and its free functioning. It would also probe what steps were necessary for the protection of the media in the State in discharging its duties to the public.
The PCI consists of Rajeev Ranjan Nag (Convener), Krishna Prasad (Member) and K Amarnath (Member).
Appealing to journalists, editors, representatives of unions and other stakeholders, Rajeev Rajan said the committee members would go to Warangal on September 17 to ascertain whether the Chief Minister had actually made the comments attributed to him.
The committee sought appoints with the Chief Secretary, the Director-General of Police and the Chief Minister to seek their views on the issue, a PCI press release said here on Monday.
The MSOs (multiple system operators) of Telangana have banned telecast of TV9 and ABN Andhrajyothi for their anti-Telangana programmes in June. They refused to restore the signals despite several appeals by journalists and managements of the two channels and journalists’ unions.
The issue was discussed in Parliament too in the last session. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar have asked the MSOs to lift the ban.