The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday morning quickly moved to arrest the damage purportedly done by Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, directing that an order released by the I&B ministry at 9.03pm on Monday be withdrawn. Within minutes, the press release was removed from the Press Information Bureau's website. The PMO has directed that the matter of fake news and of fighting it be left to the Press Council of India.
The order, intended to regulate fake news, presented amended guidelines for accreditation of journalists, alarming the journalist fraternity. The withdrawn order stated that the accreditation of a journalist found to have “created and /or propagated” fake news will be suspended or permanently cancelled.
While it was at once seen as an attempt to undermine the freedom of speech, enshrined in the Constitution, the Editors Guild of India was considering making its stand on the issue public. The media in India is self-regulating, and according to senior professionals on bodies like the PCI and Editors' Guild, instances of fake news have constantly been dealt with for a very long time now.
Considering ministers have been found tweeting fake news, and party staff have been caught generating fake news, the damage to the BJP as well as the Modi government could have been immensely more, had the order not been withdrawn just in time.
The now-rescinded order was unilateral, with Irani not discussing it with any of the media bodies.
After Modi's intervention, the I&B minister struck a reconciliatory tone, and tweeted that she is “more than happy to engage with journalist body or organisations wanting to give suggestions so that together we can fight the menace of 'fake news' and uphold ethical journalism.”
She, in fact, said interested journalists may feel free to meet her at the ministry.