From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Jaipur’s BJP MP Ram Charan Bohra on Monday mentioned in the Lok Sabha during zero hour the discriminatory practice of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot towards Rashtradoot, the oldest daily of the state.
He drew attention of Information and Broadcasting Minister on how Gehlot is using the state government advertisements to twist the arms of the newspapers and deny the advertisements to those writing against him.
In the government’s second anniversary, Bohra said the CM clearly told reporters that only those newspapers will get the advertisements who publish positive reports about his government and not write anything on its failures. Rashtradoot’s editor Shri Rajesh Sharma complained to the Press Council of India (PCI) that it is a conspiracy of the CM to weaken the democracy by putting pressure to publish only his views in the newspaper. Sharma complained that this is a conspiracy to finish the independent journalism as Rashtradoot has been denied the government advertisements for not following the CM’s diktats.
The Press Council constituted an inquiry committee headed by its chairperson Justice Ranjana Desai, which strongly disapproved the Chief Minister’s attitude. It held that such action hits the entire print media adversely, Bohra added.
