Electricity Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said that the Fourth Estate have to play a key role in a democracy
He was inaugurating the C. Harikumar commemoration meet organised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) district unit at Press Club Hall here on Saturday afternoon.
The media, as a corrective force, are considered to be one of the four strong pillars of democracy, the Minister said.
Delivering the keynote address, N. Padmanabhan, former general secretary of the KUWJ, recalled the journalistic contributions of C. Harikumar, former Special Correspondent of the Mathrubhumi .
Raju, Abraham, MLA; Sam Chempakathil, Press Club president; Abraham Thadiyur, secretary, and Biji Kurien, chief reporter of Deshabhimani , also spoke.
The Minister also presented this year’s C. Harikumar Media Award to C. Gouridasan Nair, Associate Editor of The Hindu , Thiruvananthapuram, on the occasion. The award, jointly instituted by the C. Harikumar Foundation and the Pathanamthitta Press Club, comprised a purse of Rs. 25,001 and a plaque.
