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Mamata trying to please her constituency: Khurshid

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Press Trust of India New Delhi

"Good alliteration but not very reasonable politics. She has been a very good friend and she has been a very good partner but she has her compulsions and the language she has to speak, is the language that should have an appeal to her constituency," Khurshid told reporters on the sidelines of an event on media laws.

He was reacting to Banerjee's criticism that the UPA government was running on "money, muscle and mafia" power.

Asked about the West Bengal Chief Minister's comment that she was not consulted on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail, Khurshid said, "If Mamata Banerjee felt that she was not consulted, then she has made her point and that is the reason why she has left the alliance.

 

"The Prime Minister said that it was very sad that they were leaving the alliance, but we have a job to do and we have to move on."

Speaking at a conference on Media, Advertising and Entertainment Laws, Khurshid said there is a need to find a balance between media freedom and the sanctions imposed on it.

He also said the Rs 100 crore fine meted out to a news channel was "severe".

"I don't think that the wrong they did was such was an irreparable wrong that they had to be reprimanded in such a severe manner.

"I think there are two sides to it. What responsibility and care we (media) must show towards other human beings when we are saying or reporting or doing things, that can have far-reaching impact on people's lives, even destroy them.

"At the same time, we need to be careful that the reprimand or the sanction that is imposed does not go beyond the merits of the case and does not become a dis-incentive for free reporting as far as the media is concerned," he said, while addressing an audience comprising legal luminaries.

  

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First Published: Sep 27 2012 | 4:25 PM IST

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