ALAPPUZHA: CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat on Sunday said that governments had been misusing the ‘freedom of the press’ guaranteed by the Constitution. Speaking after inaugurating a seminar on ‘Media Freedom’ at the CPM state conference at Town Square here, Brinda said that media had been effectively doing the duty of protecting democracy.
“However, governments often use media for spreading communal agenda, which should be prevented,” she said, adding that during the Emergency the government had censured media. “Nowadays, such violations are occurring in various parts of the country. Sometimes, the media also misuse the rights entrusted on them. The CPM always stood for the freedom of press,” Brinda added.
LDF convener Vaikom Viswan, who presided over the seminar, said that wrong journalism would push countries into danger. Journalists Thomas Jacob, Johny Lukose, N P Rajendran and N Prabha Varma; P Rajiv MP and CPM district secretary Saji Cheriyan also spoke.