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Major political parties are divided over the government's decision to allow foreign direct investment in print media, particularly in areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
Speaking to rediff.com, Congress spokesman S Jaipal Reddy said that the government should have give due consideration to this aspect.
"...we feel that there is a scope for foreign intelligence agencies to invest money in the newspapers in Kashmir and Northeast. Some investors could be hiding in tax havens and asking someone else to invest money on their behalf and that would make it difficult for us to detect," Reddy said.
Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechuri felt that the whole decision was wrong. "If the policy is wrong it does not matter whether the money is coming in J&K or elsewhere. Some of our newspapers operating from Delhi are also going to troubled areas," he said.
However, Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah said one should not be alarmed at the very mention of FDI in newspapers in Kashmir.
"I don't see why Pakistani newspapers like the Dawn or The Nation should be investing money in newspapers in Kashmir. In any case FDI does not mean that it takes automatic route. These investments would be subject to approval by the Reserve Bank of India. Besides, the intelligence agencies must have taken care of this crucial aspect as well. Since I am part of the government and the government has taken this decision to allow foreign investments in the newspaper industry whether in Delhi or in Kashmir, I would go along with it," the newly elected president of the National Conference told rediff.com
He said even without foreign investments some of the Kashmiri newspapers were toeing Pakistan's line.
The president of the J&K National Panther's Party, Bhim Singh, disagreed with Abdullah. He felt that the Centre had compromised the security of the nation by allowing FDI in print. "They could have made Kashmir and Northeast as exceptions to the rule."
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