"Transparency & Empowerment in Decision-Making" - Justice AP Shah

Описание: "We are today living in the age of propaganda, and proactive false information, and half truths. The media coverage, or rather black out, of certain press conferences, and distorting headlines with a pro-government bias, is an attempt to spread disinformation. The right to freedom of speech and expression is under attack. Unless, we as ordinary citizens do not rise up and demand accountability from the government, there will be no change in the situation," said Justice AP Shah in a scintillating speech that covered a wide range of issues -- right to information, accountability, freedom of speech, whistleblowers, Lokpal, privacy and many other issues. He was speaking on "Transparency and Empowerment in Decision-Making are Pillars of a Healthy Democracy” at the Inaugural RTI Lecture organised by Moneylife Foundation's RTI Centre at Pune.

Justice Shah said, "Today, we are living in a world where we are told what we can and cannot eat, what we can and cannot see, and what we can and cannot speak about. Dissent, especially in the university space and in popular culture, is being curbed. We have journalists who are shot dead at point blank rage, merely for the views they hold and propagate. We have movie producers and directors who are forced to make edits in their scenes and issue disclaimers, despite CBFC clearance, so as to not offend the sentiments of a single community. Think of the controversies surrounding Padmavat, Lipstick under the Burkha, S Durga, or Jolly LLB, and you will realise that we are living in an increasingly intolerant society."

"More importantly, in this age of mass-communication and digital media, the media assumes an even greater importance in playing the role of the opposition and checking facts. In fact, no other institution wields as much power and influence on public opinion as the media. However, in recent times, a section of the media, rather vast section of media, particularly electronic media, through its biased and one-sided reporting, has unfortunately aided in the restriction on free speech. Media have become propaganda machine, if not anything else. It is thus not an exaggeration to state that our institutions are under attack today and there is a concerted attempt to destroy any independent thought. Think of the weakened Election Commission or the Central Vigilance Commissioner’s office, once beacons of independence. Today, if anyone holds a view that is different from the government’s 'acceptable' view, they are immediately dubbed as 'anti-national', with a view to intimidate and browbeat voices of dissent and criticism, especially through severe online harassment, trolling and abuse," the former Chief Justice of Delhi and Madras High Courts said.

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