New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India Friday raised concerns over the Andhra Pradesh government giving powers to bureaucrats to file complaints and lodge cases against media houses, and sought a withdrawal of the order.
“Such blanket powers to the top civil servants in each of the departments of the state government will be prone to misuse and their rampant application will do grievous damage to the freedoms of the media,” the guild said in a statement.
The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement pic.twitter.com/KyU9bprgx0
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) November 8, 2019
The Jagan Reddy government announced the decision on 30 October, which empowered all department secretaries to file such complaints. Earlier, only information commissioners could do so.
According to a Government Order issued by Andhra Pradesh’s Information and Public Relations Department, department secretaries can “issue rejoinders, file complaints and lodge appropriate cases, if need be, through public prosecutor against defamatory news items published/telecast/posted in print/electronic/social media pertaining to their respective departments after following due process of law”.
Will seriously undermine functioning of media: Guild
The Editors Guild statement expressed deep concern over this decision stating that it will “seriously undermine the functioning of the media”. It added that criminal defamation was “bad enough” in the hands of individuals and likened the move to censorship.
“If the state were to employ it [criminal defamation] with its own limitless resources, it will amount to censorship by another name,” the guild said.
Many journalists and politicians condemned the move. The Press Council of India also took suo motu cognisanse of the matter and asked the chief secretary and special commissioner (information and public relations) to file a response.
Leader of opposition and Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu said that the move will “curb freedom of expression” and the move is meant to “stifle people’s voice on social media”.
The right to question, criticize and showcase the failures of a govt is fundamental to democracy. @ysjagan’s govt has today issued the draconian GO 2430 that aims to curb freedom of expression in AP. This is meant to stifle people's voice on social media (1/2) pic.twitter.com/aNgbH6376C
— N Chandrababu Naidu #StayHomeSaveLives (@ncbn) October 30, 2019