VIJAYAWADA: Countering TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu’s allegations of a crackdown on the press freedom, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has said that the YSRC government is not restricting media, but only streamlining the process of taking action against ‘defamatory news’ disseminated without any basis to tarnish the government. He claimed that the YSRC dispensation treats all media organisations equally without any prejudice unlike former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Speaking to the reporters at the Secretariat on Friday, the minister reminded Naidu of the Government Orders issued by the previous TDP government for taking action against media for adverse reporting. “If he does, it is law, and if we do, it is curtailing press freedom. We have neither brought in a new legislation nor amended an existing one. So, why is the TDP chief misleading the public? All we did was empower the Secretaries and heads of departments to take action if any defamatory news is published about their department. Earlier, only the commissioner of information and public relations had that power,” he explained. He allayed the apprehensions and allegations of misuse of the decision stating, “Our government will act as per the rule book and as per the provisions of the law alone.”
He also defended the decision, observing that the process was streamlined. “In the past, if there was any news that would tarnish someone’s image, they had to follow a process of going to the Chief Secretary. Or, the district collectors would have taken action when matters pertaining to their jurisdiction had come up. Why should an aggrieved party go to someone else for action?” he said.
Botcha came down heavily on Naidu accusing the latter of favouring certain media houses when he was in power.