Bill on right to information soon: PM

The Prime Minister said that when television and cable became popular, it was feared that these would spell doom for the print media. But the print media had sustained and survived the onslaught. He lamented that at times newspapers adopted a negative attitude and called upon journalists to present the truth before the people who had undying faith in the credibility of the Press.

Nostalgically recalling how he had himself started his career as a journalist during the freedom struggle, Vajpayee said that working in anewspaper then was regarded as a mission. Now it had become a full-fledged profession. He saw nothing wrong with it but said that journalists must work with dedication for the welfare of the society.

Vajpayee said that the Punjabis had waged a heroic struggle during the emergency when the Press was sought to be gagged. A large number of people had courted arrest to safeguard the freedom of the Press. He stressed the need to create such conditions where nobody dared gag the Press.

“There is no quarrel with people taking journalism as a profession but newspapers should not just be money making enterprises,” he said that adding despite apprehensions following the growth of the electronic media, newspapers have stood the test of time.

The PM took a dig at what he called news selection saying that newspaper reports should help the society and give priority to national causes.

Observing that his government wanted media to be even more powerful he said, “I am always ready to face the truth and I do notwant to hide anything”.

He was confident that Indian media would be able to compete with their foreign counterparts.