‘Citizens’ Right To Know denied by agents strike’

KOCHI: Citizens’ fundamental Right To Know (RTK) guaranteed under the Constitution, has been denied to Keralites due to the CITU-supported newspaper agents strike, opined speakers at a media seminar at SCMS in Kochi on Monday.
Sebastian Paul, former MP, handed over copies of all newspapers to SCMS group chairman G P C Nayar as part of the inaugural function.“The fact is that the striking agents are neither journalists nor non-journalists and hence no proper attention is given to their demands. But, this is a small issue that can be sorted out when the agents and newspaper owners meet for a discussion, which is not happening,’’ he said.
He called for an immediate solution to the strike. In his address, Nayar said it was a sad state of affairs that RTK was being denied to everybody in the state. “It is time the two parties came to some kind of understanding as under a democracy, people need to know what the government is up to and that is possible only if information is provided to all,’’ he said.
Manoj K Das, resident editor, The Times of India, K Sudhakaran Pillai, assistant editor, business, Mathrubhumi, Thomas Ravi, RGM, circulation, Malayala Manorama, and K Venkiteswaran, bureau chief, The Hindu, also spoke.