Tamil Nadu Governor's Advisor Issues Caution Note For Media, Receives Backlash

New Delhi: A caution note from the Tamil Nadu governor’s advisor, cautioning the media against reporting news on Raj Bhavan with no specified sources, has received the ire of the media fraternity.

In a post on ‘X’ on Saturday (April 26), Thirugnana Sambandam, the media and communication advisor to Governor R.N. Ravi, said that media should avoid publishing news by citing unspecified sources without verifying it with officials at the Raj Bhavan.

“Any attributions quoting Raj Bhavan sources directly or indirectly without checking the veracity or authenticity from competent authority shall be avoided and would be viewed seriously and taken into account for appropriate action,” he said in a post, appealing to the fraternity for cooperation in this regard.

The post was made on the second day of a conference of vice-chancellors of all universities hosted at the Raj Bhavan in Ooty.

Following the advisory, the Chennai Press Club issued a statement mandating that all news items regarding Raj Bhavan be published only after confirmation with authorities concerned amounted to censorship. 

“This amounts to censoring the news. It is an oppression of freedom of expression. We strongly condemn this announcement. It must be withdrawn immediately,” the club said.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, several vice chancellors and senior officials of state-run universities skipped the event, for which Ravi had blamed the government’s ‘threats’ as the reason. 

However, higher education minister Govi Chezhiaan had strongly refuted his allegation.

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