CM Revanth warns media houses against running slanderous reports to destabilise the state

Hyderabad: Taking a tough stand against what he called ‘motivated agendas,’ Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy challenged the state of ethical standards governing the current media industry.

He warned media houses that if personal or business rivalries exist between owners, they should not use their platforms to destabilise the state or target public servants.

“If NTV and ABN have rivalry issues, shut the door and attack each other, but don’t run such slanderous stories against the government or officials,” CM Revanth said.

On ABN Andhra Jyothi and ‘blackmail journalism’

The Chief Minister strongly backed Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s criticism of ABN MD Radhakrishna. He alleged that the ‘Kotha Paluku’ (First Word) column is being used as a tool for political vendettas.

Allegations of extortion for private gain

CM Revanth accused some media houses of using negative coverage to pressure the government into favouring their private business interests.

“Some media houses try to ‘extort’ the government. They threaten to publish negative stories if their interests in real estate or tenders are not met. This is not journalism; it is blackmail,” he said.

What are the political alignments of media houses?

He further alleged that the channel is ‘remote-controlled’ to serve the interests of the BRS and certain leaders in Andhra Pradesh.

On the NTV controversy and journalist arrests

The controversy regarding NTV reached a breaking point this month following the arrest of two journalists for broadcasting content regarding a woman IAS officer and a state minister.

Defending the SIT Action, CM Revanth dismissed the ‘press freedom’ narrative, asserting that the law applies to everyone.

“Media freedom does not give a license to assassinate the character of women or officials. Airing private and derogatory content is a crime, not journalism,” he said.

CM challenges media house to defend

The CM dared the media house to defend its reporting in a court of law. “I challenge the channel to prove the authenticity of their reports in court rather than playing the victim card after crossing all ethical boundaries,” he said.

Using the term ‘yellow media’ to describe the alleged bias of these outlets toward the TDP and BRS, the Chief Minister warned that his government would not be intimidated by ‘management-driven agendas.’