NEW DELHI, 4 SEPT. The Press Club of India strongly condemns the lodging of a police case against three members of a fact-finding committee of the Editors Guild of India and its President on the media coverage of the ethnic clashes and violence in Manipur. The police have invoked Section 66A of the Information and Technology Act even though the provision has been struck down by the Supreme Court.
Uma Kant Lakhera, President, The Press Club of India
In a statement issued on Monday by the President of the Press Club of India Mr. Uma Kant Lakhera and the General Secretary Vinay Kumar have said, “On multiple occasions, the apex court has directed that nobody should be prosecuted under the provision. The entire issue revolves around the role of the media, and it is evident that the Editor’s Guild did a commendable job by sending a fact-finding team to check the ground situation and information which are being suppressed.
The statement alleges that this is a strong-arm tactic by the state government which amounts to intimidation of the apex media body of the country. At a time when violence-marred Manipur needs the utmost attention of the government, such a move by the state government would only make matters worse and would be seen as a deliberate attempt to suppress the truth. The statement says “It is a case of shooting the messenger rather than taking measures to restore peace in the state.”
The Press Club of India demands the FIR against the EGI President and the three members be withdrawn immediately.
