New Delhi: Journalists should stick to the truth, discourage those who seek to arouse emotions on caste, regional or communal lines, and not "eulogise" terrorists, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.
Addressing the 49th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), he said nowadays there are attempts to eulogise those accused of terror activities.
"We have seen in recent days what is happening to terrorists, their sympathisers, dacoits. Some people are trying to eulogise Afzal Guru, Yakub Memon, Maqbool Bhat or Burhan Wani," Naidu said.
"It may be music to the ears of our neighbour who is trying to aid, abet, fund and train terrorism. Pakistan is aiding, abetting, funding training terrorism. You are a journalist but you are a citizen of India and you have a duty towards the country," he said.
Naidu told the students graduating from the premier media school that news and views should not be mixed and journalists should stick to the truth.
"My advise to the media is -- be near to the truth and keep away from sensation. But unfortunately, sensation has become the order of the day. They want some headlines," he said.
"Caste has no relevance to the society. But unfortunately people are using emotions, caste emotions, regional emotions, language emotions, communal emotions," he said.
Naidu advised the students that "journalism should be a mission and not for commission" and said that unfortunately in present times we hear about evils like paid news or sponsored news.
He also referred to the recent violence over the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and asked why should buses be burnt over the issue?
Journalists should not fall in the trap of such tendencies, Naidu said, adding that all should feel proud of the country's culture and traditions.
