(Reopens DEL52)

Earlier replying to a question related to freedom of media at the interaction at IWPC, Tewari said the UPA government had in its nine-year tenure never tried to muzzle the media and referred to the 'Tehelka' episode to hint that the same did not apply to the previous government. "I am not being partisan but if you look at the last nine years of the UPA government, there has never been an attempt to undermine and muzzle the press in a manner in which it unfortunately did take place in the years preceding that," Tewari said. "Just because at one point in time, I was Tehelka's lawyer, I would be accused of being partisan. But at the risk of professional probity, I cannot but remind you how exactly that episode was dealt with by the incumbent government," he said. Tewari said media should self-regulate and added that there were already nascent signs of that happening. He also said the government also believed that the social media was not containable. Speaking about problems confronting journalists, Tewari said conditions did become difficult for journalists especially in remote areas. "The levels of intimidations increase as we go down the democratic tier and it is extremely difficult for journalists especially who work at district levels to really alleviate themselves or be independent of the powers that be," he said. In answer to a question as to whether there was a need to check the way governments spent their advertisement budgets as it could have an influence on media reporting, Tewari said the government advertising budget was not so huge that it could influence coverage but added that the concern could have relevance in certain states.