New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has taken strong exception to the finance ministry’s decision to deny government-accredited journalists access to North Block, calling it a “gag on media freedoms”. It urged finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reconsider her decision and withdraw it.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the guild said a blanket order was not the answer while also reiterating that journalists should behave with “restraint and responsibility”.
ThePrint Monday reported that journalists, including those accredited by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), will only be able to enter the finance ministry’s offices after making appointments with government officials.
However, on Tuesday night Sitharaman clarified that no such ban was in place.
Clarification on media reports alleging that media persons have been banned from entering the Ministry of Finance, North Block. pic.twitter.com/T2muJ6NV0J
— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) July 9, 2019
This is for the first time that such restrictions have been imposed. Journalists accredited by the PIB were, otherwise, allowed to freely enter offices of all ministries and departments, barring those of defence and external affairs.
Read the Editors Guild’s full statement below:
The Editors Guild of India condemns the Union finance ministry’s arbitrary decision to deny even government-accredited journalists’ access to its offices in North Block, without prior appointment.
The Guild has no dispute with the ministry that journalists should behave with restraint and responsibility while enjoying their access to the finance ministry. But a blanket order is not the answer. Journalists do not go to government offices to enjoy the comforts and hospitality of visitors’ rooms designated for them. They go to perform their challenging job of newsgathering.
This order is a gag on media freedoms and can even result to a further fall in India’s global press freedom rankings, especially as the contagion can easily spread to other ministries as well. If the finance minister believes that journalists’ access to government offices was causing some inconveniences, the system could be improved in discussions with journalists.
The Guild urges the finance minister, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, to reconsider her decision and withdraw it.
Also read: Should journalists get unrestricted access to govt offices or has media become too invasive?
To change Heineken’s tagline a little, When you are brewing such a fantastic, world beating product, invite senior folk to drop by, sample it, spread the good word.