In an official press release on April 2, 2018, the MIB hold the threat to suspend/cancel press accreditation of journalist in the event of reporting of fake news as verified by PCI in case of print media representatives in the first instance for six months, in the case of second complaint proven by PCI the cancellation will be for one year and third such complaint as proved by PCI will warrant permanent cancellation of accreditation. In the case of electronic media accreditation, similar exercise will be undertaken. PCI and NBA will decide whether accredited journalists under complaint or those seeking fresh or renewal of accreditation have observed Norms of Journalistic Conduct and Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards as the case be.

In the Press Accreditation Committee both the PCI and NBA are represented. They will examine and decide complaints each such complaint within a time frame of 15 days.

Well, in the regime of current one-man NDA Union Government, where the rule of law based system of democratic governance has been put on the mat and the entire system has fallen apart, where paid news syndrome has taken over entire media world spectrum, where crass commercialism rules the roost across the media world, in a system where free media are barred from the corridors of the Government, threat of suspension or cancellation of press accreditation is insignificant.

Besides, such decision is viewed by observers of functioning of Indian democracy as ruse to deflect public attention from a recent Cobra Post expose of whole sale media world indulging in paid fake news to propagate Sangh Pariwar agenda and poisoning minds of the people by demolishing day in and day out the very idea of India and its time tested civilisational strength of unity in diversity, tolerance and co-existence.

Added to the above, the Government has already packed the press accreditation committee with Sangh Pariwar ideological favourites. One can very well imagine the findings of such personnel with such coloured mind! Fake news has been defined as non-attributed news. But who will decide fairly in such matter , give the culture of collusion and complicity in our system of governance?

Government has already well considered reports on fake paid news by the PCI, Election Commission of India (ECI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and various organs of the Finance Ministry. Added to this, the MIB presented more than 17 drafts of regulatory mechanism for the entire spectrum of media, and each time the successive Government developed cold feet over the media crying hoarse over the bogey of the press freedom in danger, insisting that media believes in self-regulatory mechanism, which is not working.

In the current scenario, Union Government has regimented media houses fully by arm twisting of their owners, holding threat of using various agencies to frame them, journalists are kept on tenter hooks, Wage Boards recommendations are violated with impunity, and contractual jobs are orders of the day, journalists in the field are made to double up as advertising agents and are low paid. Above all, crass commercialism rules the guiding principle in the globalised market economy where media world is corporatized, PCI and NBA are toothless with no power to penalize the media, enjoying moral authority where it can name and shame them for violation of the professional journalistic ethics as stipulated in the two Codes, social media, which is borderless, and web based news and current affairs, in both the cases their servers are abroad, Government’s decision is just eye wash and nothing else. The size of accreditation is about 3000. It, therefore matters little, at a time where social media with no hold barred aided by marvel of information technology explosion.