Kathmandu, May 13
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has assured that he will make initiatives to make the Media Council Bill that the government recently registered in the Federal Parliament more press friendly.
The Speaker’s statement follows a strong protest of the bill from the media fraternity, claiming it will jeopardise the free press.
Receiving a delegation of the Federation of Nepali Journalists and the Press Council Nepal in Kathmandu on Monday, the Speaker said he would allocate sufficient time to discuss concerns of the journalists in meetings of the House and concerned parliamentary committees.
On the occasion, the journalists had submitted a memorandum to Speaker Mahara, drawing his attention to anti-press provisions of the bill.
Submitting the memorandum, FNJ president Govinda Acharya and general secretary Ramesh Bista, Press Council acting chairman Kishor Shrestha said they had strong objections to provisions proposed in the bill including levying a fine of Rs 1 million and keeping it under the government.
They demanded that the government withdraw the bill and register a new one, after a rigorous consultation with stakeholders.
FNJ general secretary Bista says the Federation will also submit the memorandum to National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina also this afternoon.