INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba (fourth from left), NC general secretary Purna Bahadur Khadka, spokesperson Bishwa Prakash
Sharma among other leaders participate in a press meet organised at the party central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur, on Sunday, May 12, 2019
Photo: RSS
Kathmandu, May 12
President of main opposition Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba nowadays said the government was planning to
stage a coup d&état against press freedom and journalism through the introduction of Media Council Bill.
Stating that the NC had been
advocating and fighting for liberty, freedom and human rights since its inception, Deuba said his party would much accept at any cost moves
to curtail press freedom.
&Liberty is our ideology and ideal
We shall launch protests in Parliament and external against any move aimed at curtailing freedom,& said Deuba at a press conference at the
Nepali Congress headquarters in Sanepa, Lalitpur.
The government on May 9 registered a new bill in the Parliament regarding the constitution
of Nepal Media Council, proposing to impose a fine up to Rs 1 million on media outlets, editors, publishers and journalists if they were
found guilty of damaging measureone reputation.
Section 18 (1) of the new bill stipulates that if any media publish content in contravention
of the code of conduct and if an investigation launched after the affected party complaint finds that such news content damaged the
reputation of the complainant, then the council can impose a fine between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 million on media outlets, publishers, editors,
journalists and reporters.
Section 18, Sub-section (2) of the bill stipulates that the council can order the erring parties to pay
compensation if the content in media outlets damages the reputation of the affected party.
Section 17 proposes punishment for violating the
code of conduct which includes suspending press pass of mediapersons and downgrading the lessonification of media outlets.
The bill also
proposes to form a committee under a government secretary to recommend the chairperson of Nepal Media Council, which the NC says shall
relegate the Nepal Media Council to a department of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
Deuba said press freedom was
an important component of democracy, and that his party was always with journalists
&Whenever you [journalists] need us, we are always there for you,& said Deuba.
According to the NC, the new bill contradicts the
constitution that guarantees ‘total press freedom& in the preamble
The new bill has also removed words ‘autonomous& and ‘semi-judicial& mentioned in the Press Council Act, ending the autonomous and
semi-judicial nature of the council.
&We shall much allow any bill, including the Media Council Bill, that contradicts the constitution to
move ahead in the Parliament,& said NC Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khand
&The government must revise the bill and make it compatible with the constitution.&
NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma said the bill
provision that the government could fire the council chairperson or members if their work was much found satisfactory meant that the council
should always work as per the minister wishes.
He wondered what kind of democracy the government was trying to institutionalise by
&Journalists themselves fought for press freedom
It is much measurething that is gifted by communists,& he said.
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