Age of bans on media is over: Jaitley


New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI): Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley today said the "age of bans" on the media is over, observing that it is "literally impossible" to implement them.

Delivering the Sardar Patel lecture organised by All India Radio (AIR) here, Jaitley, who is also the Finance Minister, noted that while the right to freedom of expression has expanded in India through successive judicial verdicts and technological advances, its misuse continues to happen.

"Many believe, and I am one of those who do believe, that the age of bans is now over. It is literally impossible if not very difficult to implement them," he said.

"Should the state step in? As far as possible, no," he said.

The minister noted that while print media and to a large extent electronic media adopt discretions in their content, social media completely lacks such a mechanism.

He pointed out that makers of the Constitution rightly held that freedom of speech and expression is not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions which were specifically defined.

"In a society where because of multi-religious, multi-cultural reasons there are sensitivities, what do we do if somebody crosses the Lakshman Rekha itself? What would the Indian society have done if instead of the Danish cartoonist, it would have been an Indian cartoonist?

"And therefore we have criminal laws in provision but then in extreme cases, very reluctantly so, some power of restraint in larger interest so that it doesn't disturb public order, and that is where those 1950s restrictions imposed in Article 19(2) itself will have an important role to play," he said.

Jaitley said that in a changing media landscape, with the arrival of electronic media, news became more sensational.

"News was what Television cameras could capture. What cameras can't capture won't be news. A major Africa summit will be some news, but a young girl returning home from Pakistan would be big news because the Television captures it differently," he added.

He said that there is now a difference between actual news and channel driven news.

"As the marketeers of news express their right to free speech, the viewer or the reader's right to information and knowledge itself is also getting impacted," he said.

Speaking about social media, he said while citizens have got a voice, it is an unregulated medium and there is also a large amount of false, defamatory and also damaging content.

The minister said that in this situation, we have to rely on a sense of fairness of those who participate on social media.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Roshan, Mangaluru

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    BJP known famously for bans on everything. Even recently BJP banned internet and mobile, when Hardik Patels protests were on. Kashmir too had the bans. The list can keep growing.

    The thing is when a cop himself turns thief, who can catch him? Society has to listen to moral stories even from such people. That is a tragedy.

    DisAgree [5] Agree [12] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rosario Fernandes, Kallianpur

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    BJP does everything on trial and error method. They think they are smart & we are fools. They implement some RSS ideas, if the public outrage, they apologize.
    Maha crook outfit. We have to be careful with these people or we have to stay with ONE MEAL A DAY and shout the slogan 'Achhe Din Ageye'.

    DisAgree Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Declan, Mumbai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    But age of beef bans have begun !

    DisAgree [3] Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ravi B Shenava, Mangaluru

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    Still Govt is indirectly controlling media through Govt Advertisements. Actually Govt ads are the biggest money spinners for all news papers in India. Every year Central & State Govts, PSUs and other depts spend billions of rupees on govt ads. Those newspapers who to not toe govt lines and write against the ruling party, are not given Govt ads. Govt ads are used as bribe or blackmailing weapon to control media till now and Modi govt is not different.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    People have now stopped believing in Media & Politicians ...

    DisAgree [2] Agree [17] Reply Report Abuse

  • krish, Dubai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    y jossy?
    May we all know the better reason behind your comments?

    DisAgree [15] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    krish, people are fed up of Monkey Baat ...

    DisAgree [4] Agree [20] Reply Report Abuse

  • krish, Dubai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    u always blame Modi, thats ok in dream also u do so.
    But y all politician and Media?

    DisAgree [12] Agree [1] Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    krish, where did I take Modi's name ...

    DisAgree [1] Agree [8] Report Abuse

  • Joseph F. Gonsalves, Bannur, Puttur / Mangalore

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    Dear Jossey Saldanha Mumbai

    Krish is allergic of your comment because he gets your dreams.

    DisAgree Agree [8] Report Abuse

  • A. S. Mathew, U.S.A.

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    Mr. Jaitley, the BJP played some game plan to control the media if that was an attainable goal, but now fully realized that it is not possible at all at this age of electronic media.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • India, India

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    Who gave the right to ban.And what your going to ban.How many years.# no ban #

    DisAgree [1] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • Praveen, Kulshekar

    Tue, Oct 27 2015

    Age of ban on media is over as it is time to buy it

    DisAgree [1] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ramakrishna A K , Mangalore

    Mon, Oct 26 2015

    No need of imposing ban on media now. Because all the Indian Media are bought by Modi-Amit Shah group or controlled by Ambani Adani or Zee groups, who are all stooges of Modi.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Mon, Oct 26 2015

    2014 victory was Media Chamatkar
    2015 you cannot cry Bhalatkar ...

    DisAgree [4] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • Swamy, Mangalore

    Mon, Oct 26 2015

    You didn't win the election in your own constituency and people rejected you and you have portfolios of finance, information and broad casting etc. Are you worth these portfolios?. You are the most notorious and hated minister in the cabinet!

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse


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