KATHMANDU, May 6: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the role played by the media fraternity in the country's democracy movement was unforgettable.
He stated this in a message of best wishes given today on the occasion of the Fifth National Journalism Day and the Gorakhapatra National Daily entering the 120th year of its publication.
The PM stated in his message that freedom of expression is the oxygen of social life and the government is together with the journalists in protecting their professional interests and independence.
Taking investigative journalism to new heights
He also expressed respect to the works carried out by journalists and media people in the difficult situation of the lockdown. "We have unflinching commitment and respect to press freedom. The government is moving ahead in development and construction works, prioritizing human rights concerns and the promotion of peace and stability by ensuring social justice and equality, the press freedom, democracy and protection of nationalism," the PM's message reads.
It further states: "First of all, the journalists and media people themselves should be alert to prevent the dissemination of baseless materials from the traditional and new electronic mass media to the social media."
Stating that the government's works were moving ahead on the path of good governance and sustainable development with policy-level clarity, the Prime Minister asserted that each and every step of the government was oriented to the prosperity of the nation and happiness of the people.
He opined that the Press has attained a respectable and powerful position with the constitutional intent of dissemination of true, factual, impartial and balanced information to citizens, expressing the belief the inalienable right of the citizen to get true, objective, authentic and credible information would be respected while exercising the press freedom.
Noting that the tendency of misusing the press freedom and the freedom of expression has been increasing in society in the context of the full press freedom being guaranteed in the very preamble of the constitution itself, the Prime Minister in his message expressed the conviction that the National Journalism Day would provide further motivation towards exercising the constitutionally guaranteed rights while at the same time fulfilling the social responsibility.
The National Journalism Day commemorates the first day of the publication of the Gorakhapatra, the country's first and foremost national vernacular newspaper, in 1958 BS (1901 AD).
The government had announced five years ago to celebrate the Gorakhapatra's birthday as the National Journalism Day.
