Bhubaneswar: Media should function freely and impartially to protect the interests of the state and the citizens, said BJD President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik here on Friday.
In a democracy, the ‘people first’ must be the principle of all institutions. And the media should listen to the voice of the people, the BJD President said.
“Media is a ray of hope for the marginalized people of the society. Therefore, it must act freely and impartially to protect the interests of the state and its citizens. This will empower people and strengthen democracy”, Naveen said while speaking at the celebrations of 92nd Birth Anniversary of Pradyumna Bal and the Annual Day of Odia daily Pragativadi.
On the occasion, Naveen also congratulated eminent Gandhian Krishna Mohanty honoured with the Pradyumna Bal Memorial Award this year and Harishchandra Nanda Goswami honored with the Pradyumna Bala Journalism Award.