Itanagar, Nov 16 (FN Bureau) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday called upon the media fraternity to join hands with the government and work in a team spirit to take the state forward while vowing his government’s all support to the Fourth Estate. Khandu was addressing a gathering of media persons on the occasion of National Press Day at the newly-opened Arunachal Press Club building near the old APSTS station at Ganga here. Acknowledging the roles and contributions of the media fraternity to society, the Chief Minister reminded them of the role and responsibilities of press, and exhorted that by exploiting the freedom of press, they should tell the people the truth and not to work under duress from any quarters. “We deeply value the contributions of our journalist friends and compliment them for having played a critical role by constantly informing us, and bringing to fore issues that require our collective interventions,” Khandu said while greeting the media fraternity on National Press Day.
Further stating that real journalists are facing challenges in this era of the internet, social media and digital technology due to new-age journalists, he said, “It becomes imperative to disseminate the right information to the people”. While mentioning that all four pillars of democracy – the legislature, executive, judiciary and the media – have a common goal of working for nation-building, the Chief Minister appealed to the media fraternity to work in team spirit to take the state forward on the path to development. Responding to a two-point memorandum submitted to him by APUWJ president, the Chief Minister pledged, “Whatever is needed to be done for the media, I will definitely do.”
While noting that the Rs two-crore corpus fund provided previously for journalists’ welfare was not sufficiently earning bank interest, Khandu said he was contemplating an annual grant-in-aid for the same. Among others, IPR Minister Bamang Felix, Advisor to IPR Minister, Laisam Simai and Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) president Amar Sangno also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the new Arunachal Press Club building in presence of the dignitaries including the Secretary IPR Ajay Kumar Bisht and Director IPR Onyok Pertin and office bearers of Arunachal Press Club (APC), APUWJ and Arunachal Electronic and Digital Media Association (AEDMA). Earlier, the programme, organized in collaboration with the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh, began with observance of a one-minute silence in the memory and honour of deceased journalists. National Press Day is observed on 16th November every year to commemorate a free and responsible press. It was on this day in 1966 that the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that the press maintains high standards and is not fettered by any influence or threats.