PM Narendra Modi at the new Parliament House, in New Delhi on March 30, 2023.
New Delhi: Will the “selective” curb on journalists covering Parliament be lifted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the new Parliament building on Sunday, May 28, 2023?
Not to be cowed down by the decision of 19 opposition parties to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by him on Sunday, May 28, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today shared glimpses of the new building and asked citizens to record their feelings in voice-over for the video.
“The new Parliament building will make every Indian proud…,” Modi tweeted. Following is his tweet:
The new Parliament building will make every Indian proud. This video offers a glimpse of this iconic building. I have a special request- share this video with your own voice-over, which conveys your thoughts. I will re-Tweet some of them. Don’t forget to use #MyParliamentMyPride. pic.twitter.com/yEt4F38e8E
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2023
Meanwhile, the Press Club of India (PCI), in a letter addressed to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, yesterday sought to draw the latter’s attention towards the “continuous and unrelenting restrictions imposed on the entry of journalists covering Parliament over the last several sessions”.
The three-page PCI letter, signed by its president Umakant Lakhera and secretary-general Vinay Kumar, stated that the media is kept away under the excuse of COVID-19 guidelines even as no such restrictions exist. “WHO on May 5 said COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency. The arbitrary implementation of a pick-and-choose policy for the entry of some journalists is unjustified,” the PCI tweeted.
In the letter, the PCI feared that the restrictions on the entry of the journalists in Parliament “are part of a wider agenda aimed at controlling the media and restricting freedom of [the] press in order to impede [the] free flow of independent news stories and information to the people of the largest democracy of the world”.
As the Parliament building is being inaugurated on May 28, the PCI urged Birla to uphold the principles of democracy, freedom of the press, and the right to information.
“The reinstatement of full access for media personnel within Parliament is essential to preserve these values and promote a vibrant democracy,” it stated.
Following is a copy of the letter:
– global bihari bureau
