Srinagar, June 12:- Chairman People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and former minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen on Saturday slammed Jammu & Kashmir Government over the new media policy recently announced by it for implementation .Terming it a bizzer onslaught on the freedom of press, the PDP Chairman called upon the government to revoke the new media policy for jammu and kashmir immediately.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Hakeem while demanding revocation of the new media policy for jammu and kashmir ,said it was against principles of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. He said the new media policy was a sort of colonial censorship on the free working of press and freedom of speech and expression.
Describing the new media policy as an ugly scar on the face of democracy, Hakeem Yakeen said censorship on the freedom of speech and expression ,in the garb of new media policy , was in contravention to the ethics of journalism worldover. Deliberating on the new media policy, PDF Chairman said ” Now it was in the hands of government to decide what to publish and what not,” He said the new media policy was a new low of coersion in the history of journalism and freedom of expression. He said the “ New Media Policy-2020” gives unbridled powers to
the J&K government’s own officers to decide on what is “fake news” and take action accordingly against journalists and media organisations. ” In otherwords, it was a gameplan to scuttle flow of news from the Jammu and kashmir conflict zone to the outer world, ” Hakeem Yaseen observed.
As per the 50 page new media policy “Any individual or group indulging in fake news, unethical or anti-national activities or in plagiarism shall be de-empanelled besides being proceeded against under the law.and there shall be no release of advertisements to any media which incite or tends to incite violence, question sovereignty and the integrity of India or violate the accepted norms of public decency and behaviour,” It emphasises on verifying the antecedents of newspaper publishers, editors and key staff members before empanelling newspapers and online portals for advertisements.
Hakeem said that media in Jammu and kashmir was already working under tremendous pressure citing action by the Cyber crime branch against the photojournalist, Masrat Zahra who was booked under the UAPA for publishing “anti-national” posts on social media. Similarly the reporter of national news paper ” The Hindu ” and senior journalist Peerzada Ashiq was also questioned in connection with an FIR filed against him regarding a news item published by him. ” Under these circumstances, the new media policy was bound to choke the voice of media further, ” Hakeem Yaseen maintained while strongly demanding to revoke it immediately.
