Touts roaming in Soudha corridors: HDK

The government will take steps to curb the movement of visitors, including mediapersons, on the Vidhana Soudha premises, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy announced on Tuesday.

Kumaraswamy said touts had been caught on security cameras wandering in the corridors of the Soudha. He also rued that mediapersons, especially those from news channels, had become an inconvenience to ministers, including himself.

“The police department has informed me that the large number of visitors to the Vidhana Soudha have turned out to be an inconvenience in terms of security. Ministers and officials are also facing inconvenience. Every day, touts are misleading people. We are taking steps to curb such activities,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.

He said mediapersons will be provided a separate room or chamber.

“You move about in the corridors and approach ministers, including me, with your mike and take interviews randomly. You hold a mike in front of us, while we are in urgency and in different moods. We won’t know what to say in such a situation. A separate room with all facilities will be provided for the media inside the Vidhana Soudha, where you can call anyone you want and get whatever information you want,” he said.

During his election campaign in January, Kumaraswamy had promised citizens unprecedented access to the Vidhana Soudha.

“If I become chief minister,” he had said, “people will have open access to me and the Vidhana Soudha. I will have the barricades removed and allow people to walk in 24 hours a day. People will have an oportunity to hold my collar and ask questions.”

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa has, however, taken exception to the decision of the chief minister and warned him against curbing the freedom of mediapersons.