How Free Media Keeps Democracy Alive?

10 Key Takeaways:

1. First and foremost, the press freedom acts as the vital fourth pillar of democracy by holding powerful leaders accountable to their voters.
2. Consequently, India's low rank of 157th in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index highlights a deep structural crisis across the nation.
3. In West Bengal, Current Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari recently demonstrated a clear willingness to face sharp, unscripted questions from reporters.
4. Conversely, Mamata Banerjee consistently restricted access for critical journalists while favoring a tightly controlled circle of pliant media.
5. Furthermore, Banerjee frequently walked out of live television interviews whenever she faced awkward or adversarial lines of questioning.
6. In sharp contrast, former Chief Ministers Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee maintained remarkable institutional decorum and accessibility with ideological opponents.
7. On the national stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shifted away from unscripted press conferences toward highly controlled, pre-screened media interactions.
8. Similarly, prominent opposition figures like Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi often resort to media boycotts or highly combative responses.
9. Meanwhile, the late Dr. Manmohan Singh preserved public accountability by regularly hosting open press conferences during major political crises.
10. Above all, suppressing independent journalism blindsides rulers to actual ground realities, a mistake that directly shaped the 2026 West Bengal election results.

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May 26, 2026 - By Ashutosh Roy Current AffairsGovernance & AdminNational PoliticsPoliticsSocial IssuesWest Bengal Politics

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