Rich political parties taking control of media houses: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee today questioned the role of a section of media and accused "cash loaded" political parties of have taking control of media houses to serve their narrow political interests.

Alleging that the run up to the Lok Sabha elections has manifested an alarming role of a major section of the media, Banerjee, in a Facebook post today, said she was "shocked" with their "partial and biased" conduct.

"There is hardly any room for doubt that a few major cash loaded political parties have taken up control of media houses and engaged them to serve their narrow political interests, trampling down the ethics of democracy and voice of people," she said. "The partial and biased conduct of a section of the media, both electronic and print, has shocked me," Banerjee said in her post. "The brazen personal attacks, distortion of facts, character assassination and vilification in never before manner has stunned the nation."

The West Bengal Chief Minister said that this state of affairs could be overcome only if elections were held with state funding, which has been TMC's long-pending demand. "These steps are essential for the sake of democracy. If the current trend continues, then the future of our democracy will, no doubt, be at stake," she added.