Government is panicking, says Rahul Gandhi on withdrawal of fake news order

Rahul made the comment after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday directed to withdraw the order given by his government over revocation of accreditation to journalists found involved in circulating fake news.

The central government now left the matter to be addressed by the Press Council of India (PCI).

Saying the BJP has just one year left in hand to rule in the country, the Congress chief tweeted, "Sensing mounting anger on the “fake news” notification, the PM orders a U-Turn on his own order. One can clearly see a loss of control and panic setting in now. #BasEkAurSaal"

An official statement issued by the government on Tuesday said: "PIB Press Release regarding Fake News uploaded last evening stands withdrawn."

The Ministry earlier came out with stringent measures to contain the menace of fake news, saying the accreditation of a journalist could be permanently cancelled if the scribe is found generating or propagating fake news.

A press release had stated that if the agencies – Press Council of India for print media and News Broadcasters Association for electronic media – find the complaint to be true, the journalist will lose accreditation for six months for the first violation. A second violation would get the journalist’s accreditation suspended for a year, and a third violation would take it away permanently.

The press release had said the Government had amended the Guidelines for Accreditation of Journalists, “noticing the increasing instances of fake news in various mediums including print and electronic media”.

Top editors  and opposition parties accused the Government of trying to control the media prompting Irani to tweet on Tuesday morning that she was open to suggestions on how to modify the order and tackle fake news.

Soon after that, the Prime Minister's Office said the controversial order was withdrawn.