Indian Govt against any move to shackle the press

New Delhi, June 6 (PTI) With media coming under public
scrutiny over its coverage of Mumbai terror attacks, the
Indian Government Saturday said it favoured a debate on their
response to national security even as it underlined that any
move to shackle the press would be "unwelcome".

Media played a big role in the Mumbai terror attacks
and even forced Pakistan to acknowledge that the lone captured
survivor of the Mumbai terror attacks Ajmal Kasab was their
citizen. But the constant coverage also provided inputs to the
terrorists to plan their operations, said Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Therefore, there are "questions that stare at our face
on what should be media's response to such incidents," he
said.

Bansal said there should be a debate on this issue and
on subjects like bringing in a content code while addressing a
seminar on 'media response to national security' here.

But at the same time he cautioned that "any move to
shackle the media would be unwelcome" as media is vital for
survival of democracy.

"Without media, democracy cannot survive. It
inculcates democratic values," he said.

Organised by the All India Newspaper Editor's
Conference and Federation of Legislators of India, the seminar
was attended by veteran journalists, security experts and
former bureaucrats. PTI