Though a first time MP, AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari has a long association of nearly 31 years with Congress since joining its youth wing in 1981.
The 47-year-old leader was seen as a strong defence line of the Congress in JPC on 2G to counter BJP onslaught.
Tewari, who was the president of Indian Youth Congress from 1998 to 2000, lost the 2004 Lok Sabha polls but successfully contested the 2009 general elections from Ludhiana by defeating Shiromani Akali Dal’s candidate Gurcharan Singh Galib by a margin of over one lakh votes.
During his pre-university days, he joined youth wing of Congress and rose to become its All India Youth President before becoming the Secretary of AICC and was appointed as its Spokesperson in 2008.
Tewari comes from an eminent Punjabi family. His father V N Tewari, a professor of Punjab University, was part of the freedom movement and was killed by terrorists in 1984, few months before Operation Blue Star.
Tewari’s grandfather Sardar Tirath Singh too was an advocate and Minister in the Congress Government in Punjab.
Taking the charge as Information and Broadcasting minister, Tewari said his ministry’s job was not to regulate the media, but to ensure a level-playing field for everyone and highlight the policies of the central government.
“I think at the end of the day, as I earlier pointed out, that this ministry or given the nature of the medium, we don’t really have a regulatory remit. We have a remit which is essentially to see that the ground rules are properly laid out. Everybody has a level playing field to play on, so that there is no let or favour,” Tewari said.
“And number two, to see that the policies and programmes of the UPA government get disseminated. So I think those are the essential two remits that we have,” he said.
He was asked if he had his hands full as a lot of media coverage was perceived as negative towards the government.
On his plans on the digitisation of cable sector over which the I&B ministry had launched a hi-pitched campaign, the minister said he was gaining information on the subject.
“I am in the process of getting a feedback. Therefore, that’s something which the ministry has already put in place. A new minister doesn’t essentially mean that you unsettle the complete landscape. Let me get a feedback. Once we have a holistic perspective, we’ll take a call on that,” he said.
Tewari was also asked by reporters about his views on the issue of paid news. “I have myself contested elections twice and Iam aware of the seriousness of the problem. But this is a kind of problem on which it is important that a consensus is build,” he said.
IBF welcomes Manish Tewari’s appointment as I & B Minister
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the industry body representing prominent broadcasters in the country, welcomed the appointment of Manish Tewari as Information and Broadcasting Minister with Independent charge.