Chairman of Press Council Nepal Mathbar Singh Basnet has said that the controversial Media Council will be introduced in two months or so.

Addressing a discussion on the relevance of a Media Council in the capital on Friday, Basnet said the cabinet was positive towards the concept of a new council and was waiting for the last formalities at the secretariat, according to reports.

The government is mulling over formation of a media council replacing the existing Press Council Nepal. Freedom of expression activists have alleged that the government is mulling the new body so as to make it another government agency.

Basnet further said there was no use discussing the issue of the Media Council as all preparations are complete and “nothing is going to change even after this discussion”.

Former chairman of the Press Chautari Nepal, Shambhu Shrestha, said the Council should be “modified but it should not be linked to the government; rather it should be a watchdog over the code of ethics, advertisement policy of the government and many other issues which directly affect the masses”.

Senior journalist and former chairman of the Press Council Nepal Harihar Birahi said formation of Media Council through ordinance would be yet another blow to the independent media in the country. He said there was a need to restructure the Press Council itself and make it independent. nepalnews.com pb Apr 02 06