New Delhi: Leaving aside the “dark chapter” of the Emergency, in the history of India’s democracy, there can “never be seen any restriction” on the freedom of the press, Union minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.

At an event here, the defence minister also said on issues on which there is a “social consensus”, the government’s views can be reflected in the media and in the opinions of writers and thinkers, but that does not mean they are “puppets of the government”.

The media is known as the fourth pillar of democracy, Singh said in his address at the NDTV Defence Summit here, adding that it “works as a link” between the government and people, and they both connect to each other

Press Trust of India