CPI, CPI(M) oppose sale of UNI, doubt Zee's intentions

New Delhi, Sep 21 (UNI) Raising doubts over the intentions of Zee group in its proposed purchase of United News of India (UNI), the CPI and the CPI(M) today said changing the neutral character of UNI would be against the interests of press freedom and the democratic traditions of the country.

Rejecting the contention of Zee group's Subhash Chandra in a letter written to the Left and other parties that he wanted UNI to go global competing with international agencies, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan and CPI(M)'s Nilotpal Basu said the news agency could acquire such a stature without the intervention of a private player.

The government should help the news agency stand up to competition instead of allowing it to be sold. It would not be difficult to make UNI a financially viable entity, they contended while addressing the agency's employees at its headquarters here.

They wondered how the accumulated surplus was depleted. An independent and realistic valuation of UNI's properties should be made, they demanded.

Mr Bardhan said he had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing his party's opposition against the move to sell UNI.

Mr Basu stated that CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat would follow suit shortly.

The need for the existence of two independent news agencies in India was underscored only yesterday after the coverage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's address to the UN General Assembly in which he dubbed US President George Bush as evil. The American television channels showed only the Iranian delegation applauding Mr Chavez, while the fact was that representatives from almost all the nations were appreciative of the Venezuelan leader, they said.

Mr Basu said the way of presenting news could have a devastating effect on a country.

Cautioning the UNI management against going ahead with the proposed sale, they said the government should come forward to help the news agency tide over the crisis.

They wondered why the Zee group was keen on buying UNI, a section 25 company whose profits do not go to the owners but are ploughed back into the agency for expansion and modernisation.

UNI could be turned into a profit making venture once again as the demand for news was growing following the steady growth in the number of newspaper readers and television news viewers, they argued.

UNI TEAM RP AT HT1612