- To Journalist Protection Law Committee by Nitin Saxena
Bhopal: The Cabinet has approved the announcements of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. There is a process for every work and it comes to the ground only after the process. With this process, the Cabinet has approved to increase the journalist honorarium from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 after the approval of the Finance Department.
Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan will lay the foundation stone of the media center in Bhopal next week. The economic assistance amount for the health of journalists has also been approved from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000. Senior journalist Shri Mahesh Shrivastava has been nominated to the committee formed by Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan to make a security law for journalists. This committee will submit its report within two months and it is possible that the journalist protection law will be implemented before the code of conduct is implemented.
A lot of efforts had been made to make a journalist protection law much earlier. It can be implemented with some improvements. In the journalist protection law, a case should be registered under section 154 of the Home Ministry’s orders 1986, 2005, and January 6, 2010, but not by a smaller employee than the police station in-charge. The statement should be taken from the person who filed the case against the journalist about his work and the work should be investigated.
Only the officers or the people doing illegal work complain about the journalist, not the common citizens. Before registering the complaint, it is the responsibility of the police station in-charge to take action only after confirming the journalist from the district public relations officer.
The case registered against the journalist will have to be investigated by the CID because the local police also works in favor of the complainant under pressure.
The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved several measures to improve the welfare of journalists, including increasing the journalist honorarium from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, increasing the economic assistance amount for the health of journalists from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000, and setting up a committee to draft a journalist protection law.
Senior journalist Mahesh Shrivastava has been nominated to the committee, which is expected to submit its report within two months. The committee will be responsible for drafting a law that will provide protection to journalists from physical and legal threats.
The proposed law is likely to be controversial, as some people may argue that it gives journalists too much protection. However, it is important to remember that journalists are often targeted by those who want to silence them. A strong journalist protection law is essential to ensure that journalists can continue to do their important work.
