Kathmandu, May 7:

Newly elected president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Dharmendra Jha today said the new constitution should guarantee press freedom without any condition.

“New constitution is due to be drafted. The document must guarantee unconditional press freedom, not only in its articles but also in the preamble itself,” Jha said during a function organised by The Himalayan Times and the Annapurna Post FNJ chapters today to felicitate the newly elected FNJ executives.

The state might not be ready to grant such a freedom but the FNJ would not give up until the demand is met, he said.

He informed that the FNJ’s first meeting held yesterday decided to urge the government to expedite the process to implement the Working Journalists’ Act. Jha added that the FNJ is facing lots of challenges, including institutionalising the achievements of press freedom, evolving the federation as an inclusive professional organisation and establishing complete financial transparency, among others.

“We are competent to meet these challenges,” he added.

He also thanked all mediapersons, especially his colleagues at THT and AP for supporting his candidacy and urged the media to act as watchdog of the FNJ activities.