‘Restore full media access to parliament’: Press Club seeks meeting with Birla, Dhankar

To demand restoration of full parliamentary access to journalists and photojournalists, the Press Club of India has requested meetings with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar. 

In separate letters to Birla and Dhankar, the press body said it wants to present a case for restoring full access “like it was in pre-Covid period to all accredited journalists and photojournalists”. It sought a “suitable time window for the meeting at your convenience”.

The letter signed by PCI president Gautam Lahiri said that the restrictions imposed during Covid-19, including the cancellation of passes of journalists, were expected to be withdrawn after the World Health Organisation declared the end of the pandemic. It said the press body has “full faith” in their commitment towards press freedom.  

The letter said: “As you must be aware that restrictions were imposed on the media (journalists and photojournalists) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic during the 2020 budget session. The permanent passes of journalists and Long & Distinguished category passes were cancelled. With the World Health Organisations declaring the end of the pandemic on May 5, 2023, we expected that full access to journalists and photojournalists would be restored. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”        

The PCI had sent a letter demanding unrestricted media entry to Lok Sabha press gallery and parliament house to both Birla and Dhankar on July 2 as well.   

On July 29, journalists stopped by security officers from going to Makar Dwar, the gate where MPs speak to the media while entering and exiting parliament. The journalists were told to remain in the media container – a glass enclosure within the complex – nearby, and to take bytes only within a distance of around 10 footsteps. It was then that they decided not to speak to any MP as a mark of protest. 

Newslaundry had reported how media unity forced Birla to budge on press curbs. Read here. 

Newslaundry has extensively reported on the impact of restricted media access to parliament. Watch here and Read here.

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