The Maharashtra government will introduce a draft bill to prevent such attacks in the state assembly.
Informing that the draft bill for an act to prevent attacks on journalists is ready, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday announced that the Government would introduce the Bill in current Budget Session of the state assembly.
Fadnavis was making a statement in state assembly after the issue of the attack on DNA Special Correspondent Sudhir Suryawanshi was raised in the House by BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.
Meanwhile, the Patrakar Halla Virodhi Samiti (Committee against attacks on journalists) will stage intense demonstrations at Kharghar on Monday at Utsav Chowk. More than 300 journalists will participate in these demonstrations at 11 am on Sunday and senior journalists from Navi Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Pune and Mumbai will protest against the attack on Suryavanshi and other such attacks against journalists.
In a press release , convener of the committee, SM Deshmukh pointed out that there have been threats to journalists when opinions expressed during TV talk shows hamper vested interests. He pointed out that the protest would be held for condemning attacks on journalists and demanding stringent act for preventing such attacks.
Participating in the debate on bill to amend Indian Penal Code 1860 and the Code of the Criminal Procedure 1973 aimed at providing protection to Government employees from attacks while on duty, Shelar said that the same Government officers should show keenness in bringing a legislation to prevent attacks on journalists.
In the last six years, there have been 17,682 attacks on government officials on duty while, in the last four years, there have been attacks on four media houses and 337 journalists. The committee against attacks on journalists has been pressing for stringent legislation to prevent attacks on journalists. The Budget Session is coming to an end on April 7, 2017.
Despite the Opposition's absence in the assembly, the government faced embarrassment when Speaker Haribhau Bagade had to adjourn the House for 10 minutes after many members opposed this amendment. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat requested that since the bill is from Chief Minister's department, the debate on the Bill could be resumed when Chief Minister comes to the House. After Shelar, Jaiprakash Mundada, Sunil Prabhu, Shambhuraje Desai objected to it and the House was adjourned. Later, Fadnavis made it clear that the sand mafia and contractors had been attacking government officials and that is the reason amendment was brought in.
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