Media independence cannot be curtailed, newspapers going through era of degeneration: Mamata

Claiming that the newspaperindustry is going through an era of ''degeneration'', WestBengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted on Wednesdaythat independence of media should not be curtailed.

Banerjee sought to know if a democracy would be ableto function the way it should, if newspapers are not allowedto write freely.

''Media independence cannot be curtailed... Thenewspaper industry, however, is going through an era ofdegeneration,'' she said, inaugurating a museum set up tohonour the life and works of Barun Sengupta, founder-editor ofBengali daily 'Bartaman'.

Reminiscing how Sengupta, who died in 2008, had guidedher during her formative years as a politician, Banerjee saidthe senior journalist maintained good rapport with commonpeople and political outfits of different ideologies.

''Nowadays, everyone just shuts up once a directivearrives from Delhi, but those days the situation was verydifferent,'' she said.

The chief minister said the state government wouldprovide necessary assistance if a journalism institute is setup on the sprawing premises where the museum stands.