Nava Thakuria
Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:08:39 -0700
When politician uses scribe for vested interest
Should a scribe goes for extracting of personal information of an individual, which is illegal in India, and then submit the details to a politician in power-this is the debate presently gaining momentum in Assam. The debate has also raised the pertinent question, whether a journalist has the ethical, moral and legal right to trace someone’s call records for a non-journalistic purpose. The issue came alive after a State minister claimed that he received a call list of an individual, which has become useful for his political dispute. Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma, the health minister and the spokesperson of Assam government, in a formal press meet at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati on April 11, claimed that three opposition parties were inherently working to ensure the defeat of the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. According to him Asom Gana Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party and Asom United Democratic Front were collaborating under the initiative of Hiranya Saikia, a member of People’s Consultative Group (formed by the banned United Liberation Front of Asom). http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/180409-8.html