Vijayawada sources stated that the state government believes that it is imperative for news pertaining to various government departments needs to be accurate, without any distortion, slant or prejudice. Meanwhile a day after the government decided to empower department secretaries to file cases in courts against false news, government sources said on Thursday said the Cabinet has resolved to give impetus on a free flow of information with accuracy and objectivity.
Meanwhile the commissioner was entitled to follow the due process, like issuing a rejoinder, ensuring that the correction is given the same prominence as the wrongly published or televised news was given, including the placement/time slot and has full clarity besides being properly sourced. Furthermore if all such procedures fail to get the desired response, the commissioner would move the court and take legal recourse by filing a case as per the applicable sections.
A senior official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said “The Cabinet, however, during its October 16 meeting decided to delegate the power of suing media organizations to secretaries of the respective departments instead of being vested solely with the commissioner, I&PR and the decision was taken as Secretaries are better placed in monitoring the news, picking up the distortions, giving rejoinders and taking it to the logical conclusion”.
