Free speech cannot be absolute, should not be trampled upon:VP
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said today that freedom of speech and expression cannot be "absolute" but it should also not be trampled upon.
Naidu, who was the Information and Broadcasting Minister before getting elected as the vice president, said he was "not pleased" with India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index.
This issue should be addressed by strengthening medias independence, ensuring transparent flow of information, making legal framework more coherent and ensuring safety of journalists, he said.
India's World Press Freedom Index ranking plunged to 136 in 2017.
Naidu, in his keynote address at the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism, also said that he twice expressed the desire before Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retire from active politics and...