The accreditation of journalists would be cancelled if found guilty of publishing fake news or spreading false news. The Congress leaders were opposed to this move and raised the issue in the parliament. The government clarified that the Press Council of India will decide if this was fake news or not. The Journalists will be given an opportunity to clarify and for the third time if the scribe is found to be guilty his accreditation card will be cancelled.
In a swift move, Modi the PM has asked the Government to stop the new law against Journalists. He said the Press Council will look into the issue and not the Government.
The top journalists union have called an emergency meeting and decided that they must face this issue against the Government with unity and integrity. The Minister for Information and broadcasting Smrithi Irani clarified that the Press Council will decide if the news was fake or real.
The Government said that the print and electronic media were indulging in spreading fake news and that it has to be curbed. For the first violation, the card will be suspended for 6month, for the 2nd violation it will be suspended for a year and for the third violation the card will be permanently suspended by the Government.
Senior Journalist Shekar Gupta said that this a breathtaking assault on the mainstream media. earlier even Rajiv Gandhi has contemplated for this kind of curbs on the media but could not succeed. The journalists will fight it out he said.
