Mediapersons protest over ban on covering CM programme

The state government and television news channels continued to be at loggerheads, after camerapersons and photographers were not allowed to cover Valmiki Jayanthi programme attended by the chief minister, here on Sunday.

Taking objection to restrictions imposed on the media by the state government, mediapersons staged a protest in front of Gandhi statue on Vidhana Soudha premises.

The mediapersons were not allowed to cover a Valmiki Jayanthi programme in Legislators’ Home, which was attended by Chief Minister Yediyurappa. Alleging that the police prohibited them from entering the LH building, the journalists sat in protest.

Camerapersons and photographers were also not allowed in the recently concluded Assembly session, which drew flak by various associations of journalists and leaders of the opposition.

Expressing solidarity with the protesting journalists, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda said he opposed the government’s move restricting media from covering government programmes. If the same trend continued, he would stand in protest, he added. The Congress, on its official twitter handle flayed the government for lack of transparency and alleged that the BJP government was infringing upon the rights of media and the public.

Meanwhile, speaking to mediapersons in Bagalkot, former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar accused the government of muzzling the media.