Gujarat tries to bring press under consumer laws then backs off

Gujarat tries to bring press under consumer laws then backs off

Late last week Gujarat`s minister of consumer affairs announced a move that
smacked of an effort to gag the press in the state. But it resulted in such a storm, particularly by the political opposition in the state, that by Sunday the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was hastily retracting. The Indian Express reported on Sunday that following a closed door meeting between the chief minister and BJP national vice president Madan Lal Khurana, the state government announced that the statement made by the minister in the state assembly on Friday was his personal view.

Minister for Consumer Affairs Liladhar Vaghela had told the Gujarat legislative assembly on August 24 that the government had initiated a move to bring the press in the state under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act. This was being done in view of certain newspapers reporting "distorted version" of events in a "free-for-all style," he said. People would be able to move the consumer courts, if they felt wronged by newspapers, he said.

IANS reported over the weekend that taking a serious view of the proposal
initiated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, the leader of opposition in the assembly and state Congress Party chief Amarsinh Chaudhary had told them "It is a fascist move with a design to gag the press." He allleged that the Patel government wants to curb the freedom of the press because most of the national and Gujarati newspapers have exposed the mishandling of the natural calamities that have hit the state.

The government in the state has been chafing under constant press criticism
of alleged mishandling of relief material sent by foreign countries and agencies, embezzlement of funds and discrimination on caste and communal lines in the
distribution of relief to the people affected by the January 26 quake.

Vaghela told the assembly that he had asked his officials to examine the
relevant sections of the Consumer Protection Act and explore the possibility
of bringing the press under its purview. Asked if the action would not amount to a "witch-hunt" against newspapers for not toeing the government`s line, Vaghela said there was no other option but to initiate this move to check the scurrilous bid some of the vernacular newspapers to tarnish the image of the government.

IANS quoted a senior officer in the state`s consumer affairs department as
saying: "We have been asked to prepare a draft proposal to bring the press under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act. This will be done in consultation with the presidents of the district consumer redressal forums and placed for consideration of the state cabinet."

But over the weekend, Khurana who was on a two-day visit to the state issued
a statement that Vaghela had given views which could be personal. And party
;leaders and a government spokesman stressed that there was no such move in
the offing.. The state`s minister for information and broadcasting was not amused, because matters relating to the press were supposed to come
under his purview, not that of the minister of consumer affairs.