Journalist unions seek Maharashtra Governor"™s intervention against alleged suppression of freedom of press in Karnataka
An 7-member delegation of senior journalists representing various media organizations led by senior journalist Prafulla Marpakwar and Group Editor, Belgaum Tarun Bharat Kiran Thakur today called on the Governor of Maharashtra K Sankaranarayanan at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai and presented him a memorandum.
The delegation decried the alleged decision of the Privileges Committee of Karnataka Legislative Assembly to hold Group Editor of Belgaum Tarun Bharat Kiran Thakur guilty of breach of privilege on the basis of complaints of two MLAs of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for allegedly publishing defamatory stories against them.
Kiran Thakur told the Governor that he has been asked by the Privileges Committee to appear before it on 30th July and to tender an apology to the MLAs. He further told the Governor that the Committee has also decided to recommend to the Press Council of India derecognition of the Belgaum Tarun Bharat. This, the delegation said, was akin to muzzling the freedom of press.