Do not publish fake news: Parrikar tells media

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday asked the media not to publish fake news while also making a case for separating facts from opinion while writing news reports.

Speaking at a National Press Day event in the state capital, Parrikar also rued the fact that during elections, voters prefer corrupt candidates over arrogant ones.

The Goa Chief Minister said that India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru should be given the credit for several good deeds of that era.

"Print news that is true. Don't distort news. You have the right to criticise in an editorial. But when a journalist writes fake news despite knowing so, then I believe he is sacrificing his principles," Parrikar said.

"News should be news and news should not have views. If you want to give views, you can present it as an analysis. But if something has not happened and someone prints it as if it has happened, I think that is the biggest disservice."

Parrikar said that he had a track record of never having harassed journalists.

"I differ with you, but I will fight to the last for your right to differ with me. This sentence is inscribed deep in my heart. Harassing a journalist from a newspaper just because he is upset with me, if someone is harassing him and he wants justice, he will always get it from me," he added.

Commenting about the accountability of politicians, Parrikar said that leaders are accountable every five years, when they go to polls, but added that a disturbing electoral trend was that people preferred corrupt politicians to arrogant ones.

"I am sorry to say, people accept corruption not arrogancy. I have experienced this on many, many occasions. Those people who have shown the trend of arrogancy, they have been sent back by the people."

Parrikar also said that there was an extreme sense of negativity in the media, which he said surfaced on Children's Day (November 14) when he was asked whether Children's Day can be de-linked from Nehru.

"Why it was required? why negativity? Why should there be negativity in everything? Bring positivity about. Nehru did several good things for children. So, let it be in the name of the person. He may be Congress that time... I am not going into that," he added.

--IANS

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