NEW DELHI: Only government can confirm whether any information related to it is correct or not, I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Rajya Sabha Friday, responding to queries in the House on PIB’s Fact Check Unit, including one on the Supreme Court‘s stay on the Centre’s notification for setting up a fact-checking unit.
“The amendment in the IT Intermediary Rules, which has been stayed by SC, that is still under contest…but fundamental principle is, our point is, anything related to the government of India, only the government can say whether it is a correct fact or a wrong fact. That is our stand,” the minister said.
SC in March stayed Centre’s notification on setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Union govt. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud set aside the March 11 order of Bombay high court which had refused to grant interim stay on setting up the unit under the amended IT Rules to identify fake and false content on social media about the govt.
Responding to another query, minister of state for I&B L Murugan said Centre had no plan to establish regional fact checking units under PIB. While he didn’t name West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Murugan cited the example of a CM who recently came to Delhi to attend Niti Aayog’s meeting and claimed that her microphone was switched off, terming the claim “misleading”.
“The amendment in the IT Intermediary Rules, which has been stayed by SC, that is still under contest…but fundamental principle is, our point is, anything related to the government of India, only the government can say whether it is a correct fact or a wrong fact. That is our stand,” the minister said.
SC in March stayed Centre’s notification on setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Union govt. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud set aside the March 11 order of Bombay high court which had refused to grant interim stay on setting up the unit under the amended IT Rules to identify fake and false content on social media about the govt.
Responding to another query, minister of state for I&B L Murugan said Centre had no plan to establish regional fact checking units under PIB. While he didn’t name West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Murugan cited the example of a CM who recently came to Delhi to attend Niti Aayog’s meeting and claimed that her microphone was switched off, terming the claim “misleading”.