PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday welcomed criticism from journalists on the functioning of the government but said that it should be "constructive" and not destructive.
Sawant, who was addressing journalists participating in an 'Orientation Camp' for scribes facilitated by the State government's Department of Information and Publicity, said that care should be taken to ensure that such criticism does not damage the reputation of the State, globally.
"If the government falters, journalists have the right to point it out and criticise. But this criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Sometimes it damages the image of the State," Sawant said.
"Goa is a touristic State. Every tourist comes here after assessing the image of Goa, not that of its government," Sawant said, adding it is therefore imperative that while journalists may criticise the government, the image of the State should not be damaged.
Sawant said his government is sensitive towards the needs of journalists and pledged to support all in the news business, including mofussil journalists operating in rural terrains.
He added that his government has a couple of schemes in mind in this context.
Earlier, the chief minister told the journalists that his government took steps to update all the welfare schemes meant for the scribes with an express mention in the budget as also enacting legislation to amend past welfare schemes.
He also said that his government was in the process of formulating a couple of more schemes for journalists who were directly affected during the onslaught of the Covid pandemic.
He also said that his government has enacted the Journalist Protection Act, which has got the Governor's assent and will be notified soon.
Editor and news anchor of CNN-18, Anand Narasimhan, who was the resource person, underscored the need for journalists to keep themselves updated on day-to-day happenings while pointing out that the effectiveness of any news lies in its timely dissemination.
