Journalist wear black badges to protest new Accreditation rules

Bhubasneswar, Nov 20 (UNI) Journalists covering the winter session of Orissa Assembly today sported black badges demanding immedaite revocation of new Accreditation rules of the state government.

The issue rocked the assembly as the members cutting across the party lines, urged the chair to look into the problems of the scribes and ask the government to sort them out.

Congress Deputy leader Narashingha Mishra alleged the dictatorship of the government in framing the new Accreditation rules had forced the journalists to protest by wearing black badges while covering the proceedings.

His party colleague Umesh Swain demanded the house should adopt a bill on the accreditation of the journalists. Mr Swain alleged the accreditation has become a monopoly of the government.

Treasury bench members Damodar Rout and Atanu Sabyasachi said that the government should discuss the issue and solve the matter.

Chief Whip Kishore Mohanty also demanded that the state government should consider the problem of the journalist.

Deputy Speaker Prahllad Dora, who was on the chair however, took exception of the Journalists wearing black badges without any intimation to the Speaker. He said it was an established procedure that no body should wear black badges inside the Assembly. The Deputy Speaker ruled that he would ask the concerned Minister to discuss the issue with the journalists and make a statement only when the journalists take off black badge.

Later the Minister of State for Information and Public Relations made a statement in the house stating that the accreditation rules had been changed as per the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee. He however, told the house that the Journalists had met the Chief Minister and submitted their grievances and announced that he would hold a discussion with the journalists in the first week of December to sort out the problem.

UNI DP PC VD DB2336