Kathmandu, August 30
Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota, has said the Media Council Bill will not curtail press freedom. Answering questions posed by the members of the National Assembly on Friday, Baskota said that the bill was brought to manage the media sector in a dignified way.
However, he did add that the government would take action against those abusing press freedom to undermine democracy. He said that the bill was brought because the mass media was abusing the freedom and posting fake news. He said that the bill would make the mass media more credible.
Minister Baskota further added that the punishment for publishing fake news would be given by the court and not by the Media Council.
“Freedom of speech does not mean you can accuse anyone of anything. Where are the media’s accountability and responsibility? What type of journalism is that? When we tried to monitor that a bit, they started to bring out concerns about freedom of speech. What are they trying to achieve here?,” questioned Baskota.
Minister Baskota urged the press not to act as the court.
“The government believes in a court trial, not a media trial. The government wants the press to stop giving out verdicts on the cases based on their opinion. It is wrong. We will not accept that,” he warned.
