Retired Judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice T. Sunil Chowdary on Thursday (August 28) said the Constitution grants freedom of speech and expression, but this freedom should be exercised with social responsibility.Addressing a seminar titled ‘False campaign on Amaravati- Freedom of Expression (Amaravati py abaddhapu pracharam-Bhava prakatana swetcha)‘, organised by C.R. Media Academy in Vijayawada, Justice Chowdary insisted that false news should not create divisions in society and that upholding values in the field of journalism is of utmost importance. He raised concern that the values once practised by eminent personalities like Mutnuri Krishna Rao, Narla Venkateswara Rao, C. Raghavachari and A.B.K. Prasad were forgotten in today’s journalism.C.R. Media Academy chairman Alapati Suresh Kumar, who presided over the session, said after the bifurcation of the State, Andhra Pradesh needed a capital. When Amaravati was declared the capital, nobody objected to it. However, after 2019, a false propaganda against Amaravati was started, including misleading claims that the place gets submerged during rains. He said it was unfortunate that certain sections were spreading lies in the name of freedom of expression.Irrigation expert Lakshminarayana said rains and floods were natural phenomena. Such problems occur even in cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. He said dams and projects should be constructed in the Amaravati region to store rainwater.Historian Papineni Sai said Amaravati held historical importance spanning thousands of years and that it had a Buddhist-Jain cultural heritage. He said the region should be developed as political, social, economic and cultural capital of Andhra Pradesh.Farmers’ leader Jonnalagadda Kiran called for the need to dispel misconceptions by effectively countering the false campaign. Experts drawn from different fields condemned what they called “misleading campaign against Amaravati” and said that it could hinder the comprehensive development of the State.Published - August 28, 2025 11:13 pm IST