No new law on anvil for attacks on journalists: Minister

Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that the government has no immediate plans of enacting a new law or amending existing laws to specifically deal with the attacks on journalists.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on the attacks on media persons, particularly in Bihar, Ahir said the government has no provisions for providing jobs to the kin of a murdered journalist.

"Right now there are no such plans," said Ahir in reply to a poser by Baijayant Jay Panda of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) if the government was planning to amend or modernise existing laws to deal with the growing attacks on journalists.

"We believe, the existing laws are adequate to protect all of us including journalists. Despite that, amendments are made in the laws and it is a continuous process. When such opportunity may come, there may be changes," Ahir said.

The Minister informed the house that in 2014 a total of 114 cases of attacks on journalists were registered and 32 persons were arrested in this connection. In 2015, the total cases registered were 28, and the number of persons arrested was 41.

"There is no provision in the country or in any state about the government providing monetary compensation or job to the kin of a murdered journalist. Such responsibility lies with the organisation which had employed the journalist," Ahir told Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Om Prakash Yadav.

--IANS

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