MANGALURU: Media should protect the secular fabric of the nation and stand as voice of the poor, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan He was speaking after laying the foundation for 'Madhyama Kendra', the new office complex of 'Vartha Bharati' Kannada daily here on Saturday. "Protection of secular fabric of the nation is the primary responsibility of media. The Constitution recognizes India as a secular country, but it is unfortunate that attempts are being made to portray India as a religious country. Communal forces are making efforts to destroy the secular fabric of the nation.Many media claim that they are secular, but they stick on to communal stand. It is dangerous to the nation and this should change," Vijayan said adding that the media should stand for secularism.He said that there is nothing wrong in media having its own stand. "Every media has its own stand, but it should be for the protection of secular fabric of the nation. Media should also stand for progressive thoughts and should show concern towards the poor," he said and expressed concern over majority of the media becoming protectors of capitalists worldwide."Nearly 95% of the media across world protects capitalism. They are ready to do anything to protect capitalists. Majority of the media houses are opened by multinational capitalists. There are only few media houses that are different from others. Situation is almost same in India too. The duty of media should be to be with the nation and with people, especially those poor and downtrodden," Vijayan said.Minister for forest, environment and ecology B Ramanath Rai, minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs U T Khader, Mangaluru City South MLA J R Lobo, Mangaluru City North MLA B A Mohiuddin Bava and Moodbidri MLA K Abhaychandra Jain were guests while Vartha Bharati chief editor Abdussalam Puthige presided.

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