The perennial conflict between the YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government and two leading Telugu media houses has reached New Delhi and the Parliament, with Rajya Sabha MP and YSRCP General Secretary Vijaya Sai Reddy filing a complaint against Andhrajyothi and Eenadu, for publishing alleged 'false stories'.
He also requested the Ministry to cancel the Parliament entry passes issued to journalists from the two media outlets.
Vijaya Sai on Thursday complained to Union Minister for Parliament Affairs Prahlad Joshi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and the Privileges Committee, alleging that both media houses had spread misinformation on the proceedings of an all-party meeting held earlier this week.
The YSRCP leader said that their reportage had maligned him and the sanctity of the Parliament.
He stated that the websites and dailies of both Eenadu and Andhrajyothi had carried false reports on November 17 and 18 suggesting that leaders of other parties and Home Minister Amit Shah, pulled up Vijaya Sai Reddy over decisions taken by the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh.
He said that such reporting 'stinks of malice' and was done with 'wrongful intention', which would not only malign him, but also the tradition of holding all-party meetings. Vijaya Sai alleged that the reporters who wrote the story, had violated the basic ethics of journalism.
He urged the Union Minister to 'nip the wicked propaganda' before it went out of hand.
"Such intentional spread of misinformation to defame a sitting MP and Home Minister does not at all make them worthy to enter a building as pious as Parliament," he wrote.
He also appealed to the Privileges Committee to take up the matter, so that reporters are accountable. He added that he was planning to pursue legal action for ensuring the reputation of Parliament and its members.
The latest controversy comes less than a month after the Andhra Pradesh government's order which authorised bureaucrats to sue media houses for ‘defamatory, false and baseless’ reports.
Read: Press Council, senior journos slam AP govt over empowering secretaries to sue media
