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Government committed to press freedom: Dasmunsi

Special Correspondent

Reports about the proposed Broadcasting Bill are misleading: Minister

NEW DELHI: The Government was fully committed to safeguarding the freedom of the press, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said here on Sunday.

The proposed Broadcasting Bill was "to facilitate and develop the carriage and content of the broadcasting services in national and public interest."

In a statement, the Minister said that misleading reports about the intention of the proposed Bill had been appearing and he wanted to place the facts straight.

Reports on regulatory powers of district magistrates and police commissioners had given the impression that there was a move to curb press freedom, but that was not correct, Mr. Dasmunsi said.

Some of these regulatory powers already exist and were available in existing legislation.

Comprehensive legislation

The main aim of the proposed Bill was to incorporate the existing provisions and guidelines of various Acts to bring forward a comprehensive legislation.

At the same time, Mr. Dasmunsi indicated that there would be restrictions on cross media ownership as was the practice in major democracies of the world such as the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany. These provisions have yet to be discussed in the Cabinet and in Parliament.

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