Don't dub guarantee schemes as free schemes: K'taka CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the gurantee schemes introduced by his government in the state should not be dubbed as "free schemes".

Speaking after inaugurating the 38th State Conference of Journalists at Davangere, the Chief Minister called upon the journalists to reject superstition and develop the courage to tell the truth to the people.

"Journalists don't need politics. They have to be objective. Journalists should not call the guarantee schemes which are aimed at increasing the economic power of the poor and the middle class as free schemes," he said.

"This non-partisan, secular, non-religious scheme should not called be called free guarantee, instead it must be reviewed before writing anything," he added.

Siddaramaiah further said: "Instead of showing the husband-wife fight all day long, identify and write about the vested interests who are hindering the development of the society."

He said that society-oriented journalism is possible through this. Saying that he was a supporter of freedom of expression, Siddaramaiah said this freedom should be given some dignity.

"Common people have high expectations from the media. It should be for those who are deprived of opportunities. Technology and science have developed a lot and journalism has to take advantage of this. But journalists should not forget honesty for any reason," he said.

Karnataka Union of Working Journalists President Shivananda Tagaduru presided over the conference which was held in collaboration with K.V. Prabhakar, Media Adviser to the Chief Minister.