SRINAGAR: Panthers party supremo Prof Bhim Singh on Wednesday said the “New Media Policy” in Jammu and Kashmir is a violation of Fundamental Rights.

Prof Bhim Singh

Prof Singh in a statement said there were sufficient provisions in the Constitution to “provide reasonable restrictions on the freedom of the press.”

“The advertisement policy or the publication of any newspaper in any part of the country is controlled under Fundamental Rights applicable to entire India including all Union Territories…this (policy) is in total violation of Fundamental Rights including freedom of press and no single state or Union territory shall claim any exclusive authority to damn any portion of Fundamental Rights,” he said.

He said there were sufficient laws to “control” the media within the Constitution and Penal Code.

“There can’t be separate media laws for a Union territory and rest of the country. Such drastic press control laws were not used during an emergency in 1975. Supreme Court in its judgment has strictly maintained that freedom of the press cannot be controlled by draconian laws,” Singh said.

Prof. Bhim Singh urged the President of India to use his executive and legislative authority to direct the Lt Governor of J&K to withdraw “this kind of drastic law which cannot be applied in a Union territory like Jammu & Kashmir to curb the freedom of the press and Fundamental Rights enshrined in Chapter-III of the Indian Constitution.”

He said that this so-called ‘New Media Policy’ is totally illegal, improper, unconstitutional and violative of the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution of India which stand applicable in respect of Jammu and Kashmir.

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