Press freedom is essence of democracy, says new I&B Minister Javadekar

Prakash Javadekar, the newly-appointed Information & Broadcasting Minister, on Friday emphasised that press freedom is the essence of democracy and that the government not only recognises it but also cherishes it.

Javadekar, who has also been appointed as the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, held several portfolios in the previous Modi government. This included a brief stint as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the I&B Ministry in 2014.

Speaking to the media after taking charge, he said: “In the history of free India, the freedom of the press was curtailed only once in 1975 during the Emergency imposed by the then Congress government.”