Word war b/w Maya and Mulayam on media

Lucknow, Mar 1: The media, for a change, found a supporter in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati who took strong exception to a comment of Leader of the Oposition Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying an adverse remark against it would be construed as an attack on the democracy.

''Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and if anybody makes an adverse comment against it, they would be targeting the democratic norms,''she said in the state assembly, reacting to Mr Yadav's comment that the large sections of the media was in the control of the BSP-led government in the state.

The provocation came when Mr Yadav said the government was protecting its cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh whose name had cropped up in the Noida kidney scam. ''The media has also not written much about it because the ruling government controls part of it,'' Mr Yadav had commented in response to a suo moto statement of Ms Mayawati.

Ms Mayawati did not let go the opportunity to lambast Mr Yadav saying, ''With regards to media, the leader of opposition seems to be recounting his experiences. My party and government never indulged in such practices of influencing the media which the previous government had been doing in the past,'' she said.

She said the media was part of democracy and her government would always acknowledge the fact.

UNI