Bhubaneswar: The inaugural edition of ‘Samata Conclave’, a celebration of democracy and freedom of speech, concluded at the Press Club of Odisha here, Sunday.
The two-day conclave brought together judges, politicians, journalists, writers and artistes for extensive discussion on democracy, media, politics, literature and art.
The conclave was organised by senior journalist Kedar Mishra.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhakta Charan Das, senior journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Rasheed Kidwai, Rabi Das and others were among the attendees.
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Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, Justice S Muralidhar, inaugurated the conclave and shared his views on press freedom, judiciary and constitutional rights.
Speaking on the concluding day, Thakurta said, “We cannot have democracy without freedom of speech and expression.
The current government has introduced several laws to curtail freedom of speech in information technology, digital data privacy and more. Safeguarding the rights of the media is the need of the hour.”
PNN
