Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais has stressed upon the positive relations between the government and the media, saying that he would take initiatives to uphold this tradition, an official said on Sunday.
The Governor reportedly made this comment when a six-member team of the ‘Tripura Assembly of Journalists (TJA)’, met him at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday on the issue of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s reported “threats to the media”.
The TJA, a body comprising editors, journalists and media personnel, since September 13, has been agitating to withdraw the Chief Minister’s alleged “threats to the media” in an official function at Sabroom (in southern Tripura) on September 11.
TJA Chairman and veteran Editor Subal Kumar Dey, who led the delegation to the Governor, said that after the Chief Minister’s alleged “threat”, four journalists were attacked in different parts of the state but the police did not take any action against the attackers whereas the Chief Minister remained silent.
Demanding withdrawal of the comments made by the Chief Minister, the TJA submitted a detailed memorandum to the Governor.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has claimed that Deb’s comments were taken out of context.
An official of the CMO said that the present state government in Tripura is committed towards press freedom, rights of media and the welfare of the journalists.
“During the lockdown period, the government had arranged vehicles for transporting newspapers to various districts and sub-divisions, increased the journalists’ pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, provided financial aid to newspaper hawkers among other welfare activities to support the media. But a section of the media are trying to malign the image of the government, exaggerating the facts with some motives,” the official said.
