New Delhi: The protestors at Shaheen Bagh in the national capital have now put up a “media registration desk” at the site to ensure “no provocative reportage” of the protest, and to prevent heckling of journalists.
Installed Monday, the desk has volunteers who hand out “media slips” to journalists. These slips ask for the name of the reporter and the camera person, media agency, and the “agenda”
“Some reporters would get anyone at the site to talk on camera — even little children. They would ask kids what they understand of the protest and then run that footage out of context to malign the protest,” Khurshid Alam, one of the protest organisers, told ThePrint.
“The desk will ensure we know which channel is at the site, and that there isn’t any provocative or misleading reporting done,” he added.
The protestors at Shaheen Bagh have been demanding a repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) since December, and an announcement that the proposed National Register of Citizens wouldn’t be made.
The latest move came only two days before a controversy erupted over YouTube influencer Gunja Kapoor’s presence at the site. Kapoor had entered the protest Wednesday disguised in a burqa. She was subsequently removed from there.
“She had come to the protest multiple times earlier. But this time, she came dressed in a burqa to create trouble,” said Mohammad Khushnoor, a member of the organising committee. He is among one of the doctors who run a medical camp at the site.
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To prevent ‘misbehaviour’ with journalists
In January, Deepak Chaurasia, consulting editor at media channel News Nation TV, was heckled at the Shaheen Bagh protest site. He also was not allowed to report. Subsequently, Chaurasia visited Shaheen Bagh with Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary and reported from the site.
The protest organisers say the media registration desk will prevent any such future incidents of journalists being heckled, or misbehaved with.
“We want to make sure that no matter which channel a journalist is from, or what ideology they espouse they shouldn’t be treated badly, or misbehaved with. The volunteers will now make sure that none of the incidents are repeated,” said Khushnoor.
“Journalists with all ideologies are welcome in Shaheen Bagh. We just want to ensure peace,” he added.
‘Ploy to filter out certain media’
Journalists, however, weren’t too happy about the desk being set up. Some photographers took to social media to question the need for the desk.
“This is a ploy to filter out certain media organisations. They are saying they will just keep a note — but why should they if it’s an open protest site?” asked Anindito Mukherjee, a New Delhi-based independent photographer. “This will only make reporting more difficult, not ease anything.”
Shaheen Bagh has become the focal point in the run up to the Delhi assembly elections. While campaigning in Delhi last month, Home Minister Amit Shah had asked voters to “press the button with such anger, that Shaheen Bagh feels the current”.
Over the past few days, other BJP leaders — from Union Minister Anurag Thakur to party MP Parvesh Verma — have sought to make Shaheen Bagh a poll plank with polarising statements.
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