Media was suppressed during Emergency, it is fair, independent today: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the media was suppressed during the Emergency days but now it is fair and independent.

Addressing the NDTV Defence Summit, the Defence Minister said that during Emergency, news articles were read at a party's headquarters prior to being published and headlines were also decided there.

During that time, mediapersons, who used to oppose the government, were jailed and tortured, he said.

The Defence Minister said that he was also jailed during the Emergency days. He added that he was raising the issue because these days the media is being accused of being biased and siding with the government.

Refuting the charges against the media, the Defence Minister said all these accusations are baseless.

He said that the government and media are part of society and it is but natural for those things which have social consensus, to appear in the communication of the government and the media, both.

Citing an example, Rajnath Singh said that the US government and public view China’s rise as a threat to the nation’s global position.

This is evident from the policies of the US government and the American media, too, sees China from the same viewpoint. But that does not mean that the US government controls the American media.

He said that in all democratic nations, whether it is India, the US or Europe the governments work according to the social consensus in their nations.

Their writers and thinkers reflect this and the media also thinks and works in the same direction. This does not mean that they are the government’s puppets. They function independently.

"Similarly, our government policies are reflected in our media. Like, if our government says that we will give importance to our country's welfare, talk about India First, then it will reflect in our media too," he said.

The Defence Minister said that if the government talks about a corruption-free country, then it will be reflected in the media coverage too.

This is the reason why whenever a corrupt person is arrested, the media gives it detailed coverage, he said.

The minister said that in a democracy, the Opposition also has a social responsibility to fulfil. However, it is unfortunate that these days the Opposition is not able to fulfil its responsibility of bringing social consensus to the fore.

"When the media highlights the shortcomings of the government, we acknowledge it and try to rectify the issues," he said.

“Earlier, shortcomings in the GST were listed, which were acknowledged and rectified. Now, GST is an established system,” he said.