PM Deuba insists on RSS’ role to promote RTI

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said media should keep itself updated and refined as per the demand of time when the world witnesses a rapid development of information and technology.

Inaugurating a newly constructed building of National News Agency (RSS) at Bhadrakali amidst a ceremony here today, the Prime Minister stressed that our efforts should be for providing information to the people in an accessible and advanced way as much as possible.

The Prime Minister went on to say that he wished that the RSS could mobilize its entire mechanism, further explore its potentiality and utilise its strength in a full-fledged way to establish the people’s right to information (RTI).

The Prime Minister was of the opinion that the RSS should establish itself as a competent media in terms of informing people and making them aware by increasing their access to information along with the enhancement of its physical capacity.

The RSS functioning as the sole State-owned news agency in the nation was established in 2018 BS. Its services are diverse as they include the Nepali, English, international, feature and photo services. The organization has recently launched a visual service, too.

The head-of-the government said he wanted the RSS whose clients are also from beyond the border to expand the coverage of its services and provide them to more and more media houses and thus to the people. “To provide information to citizen is to respect the citizen’s fundamental rights,” he said, adding the incumbent government is committed to this assumption.

“To receive information is not just the people’s right, but is also a source of opportunity and knowledge for them. The RSS should do its role by internalizing the fact that to deprive the citizens of their access to information is to deprive them of their potentialities and opportunities.”

Stating the incumbent government was determined to honour the freedom of expression of the citizens, Deuba asserted that he had always been stringently in favor of the absolute freedom of the press.

He was of the view that news-provider agencies like RSS should also respect and propagate the government’s stance towards freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Mentioning that freedom of speech was possible only there where there was democratic system of governance, the PM opined that the country’s press should stand in favor of democratic system.

Furthermore, the Head of the Government wished that may the RSS acknowledge these values and extended his best wishes for it to continue informing and educating the citizens.

“It is imperative for the RSS to develop and diversify its services with changing time,” Deuba said, adding, “For that, RSS should optimize technologies and enhance its capabilities.”

The septuagenarian Premier urged the RSS, which had been rendering news services to national and international media for the past six decades, to continue functioning as the State’s only authorized news-bank whilst respecting the citizen’s right to information.

PM Deuba was of belief that credible, truthful and factual information and news were needed for organized development of the journalism, deemed fourth estate of the State, and expressed his confidence that RSS would address this need to a large extent.

Saying all are well-known that RSS has its own significant contribution in development of professional journalism, Prime Minister Deuba mentioned that RSS has achieved this popularity and fame due to hardworking, honest, dutiful and professional editors and reporters.

The government was positive to providing necessary support in order to take the RSS as a trustworthy news provider organization continuously, he added.

The PM opined, “As much as the citizens are educated and well-informed, the government is compelled to be responsible and accountable to the citizens. Therefore, it is necessary to disseminate fact-based news by media houses making the citizens educated and well-informed.”

Prime Minister Deuba further said, “The baseless, misleading information does not only create illusion among the citizens, but also hit the main essence of the journalism. RSS should always be aware in disseminating information helping in development of clean journalism.”

Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Minister for Urban Development, Metmani Chaudhary, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, Secretary at the Communications Ministry, Dr Baikuntha Aryal, as well as other high officials were present on the occasion.

The new building was constructed at a cost of Rs 168.6 million received from the then National Reconstruction Authority.

The Gorkha earthquake had damaged the old building of the RSS.

The foundation stone for the building was laid by Prime Minister Deuba on October 26, 2017. The Block ‘A’ and Block ‘B’ buildings have 54 rooms. All RSS services would be operated from the four-storey buildings.