People's Democracy

FROM killing the autonomy of Prasar Bharati, to packing the Indian Institute of Mass Communication with chums, policing the Central Press Accreditation Committee is now the new game.

The ministry of Information and Broadcasting under Sushma Swaraj has begun a new ominous chapter -- to have pliant government nominees in the Central Press Accreditation Committee after experimenting with the same idea in the Delhi Press Accreditation Committee while the BJP had its chief minister in Delhi. That was protested against and reversed. Today, it is the turn of the Central Press Accreditation Committee.

Certain facts are incontrovertible. Its eyes are now on screening Special Correspondents. The latest reconstitution of the committee tells the story. The government has cut the representation of some professional organisations, and increased governments nominees while sops have been offered to some too. The number of drummer boys of the government has increased in a blatant and illegal manner.

But protests have begun from a variety of bodies. They are the All India Editors Conference, the Cameramen’s association, and the All India Small & Medium Newspapers Federation. Recently they even walked out a meeting in protest against increased governmentalisation of the committee. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) however remained seated with some others.

Is the idea to distribute press accreditation as a favour and to watch the screening? Already complaints are coming of denial of accreditation to veterans. The common joke is get a Chartered Accountant be chummy with some officials and you get a press card.

A key question being asked is can press accreditation be distributed as an official favour or is it a right based on experience and select criteria? Scribes today have started remembering how the press information bureau in the emergency was jokingly called the ‘Police Information Bureau " when the era of press censorship began and denial of press cards was common.

Another question being asked is whether the inclusion of the so-called "government nominees" in the CPAC, is violative of Rule 5.2 of the Rules approved by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting vide I.D. Note No.25/33/98-Press dated 10/08/1999.

All this, in the midst of even editors talking of threats in Gujarat while investigating the riots and the role of the press. Sufferance indeed is the badge of scribes these days, from press bashing to PM’s bashings to threats and even doles and junkets to select persons and even screening of those who go on foreign assignments.