Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that Constitution is our religion, and that following political religion means respecting the Constitution.
“Our Constitution was enacted after a long and meaningful discussion. Therefore, it is the duty of all political parties and individuals to respect and obey this Constitution,” he said here on Sunday, during the Press Club of Bengaluru’s annual award ceremony.
The Chief Minister said, “Advocating for the underprivileged, supporting the voiceless and reporting news objectively is the fundamental value of journalism. Adherence to these values is the respect given to the Constitution.” Pointing out at the incident of a crow sitting on his car being blown up as a “bad omen” and propagated as “news”, he said such things that propagate superstition should not be deemed news.
He also said that journalists should have the courage to point out wrong doing of the government. He said, “Now the media is in the hands of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have no social concerns. Journalists should be careful about this.”
Person of the Year awardee Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was appreciated by the Chief Minister on the occasion as an astute organiser and an active person.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was conferred with the Person of the Year award. Former Minister Shamanur Sivashankarappa was conferred with Special Person award, while Labour Minister Santosh Lad, Chief Minister’s Political Secretary K. Govindaraj were also honoured with awards by former judge of Supreme Court Shivaraj Patil. Among the journalists receiving annual awards included Deputy Chief of Bureau B.S. Satish Kumar and Deputy Editor Afshan Yasmeen of The Hindu.
