Don’t agree with World Press Freedom Index ranking India among 30 worst nations out of 180: Govt in Lok Sabha
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, July 19
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur today informed the Lok Sabha that the government did not agree with the conclusions of NGO ‘Reporters without Borders’ whose World Press Freedom Index placed India among 30 worst out of 180 nations that were ranked.
“The World Press Freedom Index is published by a foreign NGO, ‘Reporters Without Borders’. The government does not subscribe to its views and country rankings and does not agree to the conclusions drawn by this organisation for various reasons including very low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy and adoption of a methodology which is questionable and non-transparent,” Thakur said.
He said in pursuance of its policy to uphold freedom of Press, the government did not interfere in the functioning of the press.
“The Press Council of India, a statutory autonomous body, has been set up under the Press Council Act, 1978 mainly to preserve the freedom of the Press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country. PCI considers complaints filed ‘by the Press’ concerning curtailment of press freedom, physical assault/attack on journalists etc. under Section 13 of the Press Council Act 1978 and processed under the provisions of Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979,” said the minister.
He said the PCI is empowered to take suo-motu cognizance in matters on the pressing issues concerning freedom of Press and safeguarding of its high standards.
“The Central Government attaches highest importance to the safety and security of all residents of the country including journalists. The Home Ministry has issued advisories to States and UTs to maintain law and order and ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hand is punished promptly as per law. An advisory specifically on safety of journalists was issued to States/UTs on 20th October, 2017 requesting them to strictly enforce the law to ensure safety and security of journalists,” Thakur said.
