Soni asks media to be objective and impartial

Union I&B Minister Ambika Soni has made a strong pitch for objective and impartial reporting of events while asking the press to ensure that one-sided views are not propagated.

"I appeal to the media to try and realise its strength. If this strength is misused or utilised in propagating only one-sided views, then the nation may suffer," Soni told reporters outside Parliament on Thursday.

She said, "The media is free and it should act responsibly to convey and create a level-playing field. It is the duty of the media to be objective and impartial."

Asserting that she was a liberal person, the Minister said, "I am accused of being too liberal. But, I am following the Constitution. And I expect my colleagues of the media ... your editors and owners of media houses, that the level playing field is also written in the Constitution of India."

"The UPA government and Dr Manmohan Singh are the liberal face of Indian democracy. None of us wants to go against any provision of the Constitution. Media enjoys full rights, but that should not mean that you don't remain objective. It should definitely not mean that you associate with one point of view and ignore another point of view. And it should definitely not mean that you should not lay a level-playing field," she said.

Soni said, "When it seems that the media is attached to one point of view, then others who do not subscribe to one side also have the right not to agree to this. When media takes sides, every MP has anger towards it."

The I&B Minister said, "MPs feel that the opinion which media is propagating is not the public opinion all over the country. After all, every MP represents 10 to 12 lakh voters in Parliament. They feel that people don't feel the same what the media is projecting all the time."

She further stated, "To propagate that MPs should be gheraoed is not justified." Soni said she was no less than anyone wanting to end corruption in the country.

"There may be different voices, but the objective is the same -- to free the nation from corruption."

On Hazare, she said that all MPs have sincerely appealed to him to end his fast.