Manifesto 2024: Congress vows to withdraw broadcast bill, introduce new laws to ‘restore’ press freedom

The Congress party released its poll manifesto Nyay Patra today, promising five big guarantees – national minimum wage, socio-economic and caste census, legal guarantee for MSP, 10 percent reservation for the EWS in jobs, and raising the 50 percent cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC. The 45-page document also mentioned a series of legal reforms and new laws to “protect journalistic freedoms”.    

The manifesto promised to withdraw media-related laws that “give unbridled powers of censorship to the government”, including the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023; the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; and the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023. It said the “restrictive provisions” of the laws will be “amended or deleted to eliminate backdoor censorship”.

If voted to power, the Congress will amend the Press Council of India Act, 1978  to “guard against government interference” and empower the council to deal with “fake news and paid news”.

The party will also amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952, to ensure the central film certification board grants certificates as per “transparent and reasonable criteria”.

New laws to ‘defend’ media freedom 

The grand old party plans to introduce at least three new laws to “defend independent journalism”. 

One of these will be to protect journalists from “coercive state action” by restricting the government's “surveillance of journalists, seizure of their devices and exposure of their sources”. It is worth noting that the Modi government raided the homes and seized the electronic devices of at least over 50 journalists in connection with the NewsClick case in September last year.  

The manifesto, meanwhile, also promised to introduce laws to “curb monopolies in the media, cross-ownership”, and “control of the media by business organisations”. “Congress will refer cases of suspected monopolies to the Competition Commission of India.”

The party said it will make it mandatory for media houses to “disclose their ownership structures – both direct and indirect, cross holdings, and revenue streams”. The Congress will also pass a law to “preserve the freedom of the Internet” and to “prevent arbitrary and frequent shutdowns of the Internet”.

Pointing to the Modi government’s alleged heavy-handedness on the media, the manifesto said in the last 10 years, “significant sections of the media have been robbed of, or surrendered, their freedom”. It promised the amendments to existing laws and new laws to “help the media re-discover freedom”.    

The manifesto detailed the party’s promises under 10 broad themes of equity, youth, women, farmers, workers, economy, environment, national security, federalism, and “defending the constitution”, and a page dedicated to media freedom featured under the latter. 

The media has been rewarded or intimidated to become a vehicle of propaganda of the government…We promise to restore freedom of speech and expression including full freedom of the media,” said the document. 

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