Kerala Governor bars 2 channels from press meet

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 07: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday barred two Malayalam channels from his press meet at Kochi amid growing tussle with the state government.

The Governor asked the reporters from Kairali News and Media One channels to leave the place accusing them of "masquerading" as political persons.

"I considered the media as very important. I have always responded to the media but I am not now able to persuade myself to those that masquerade as media. They are not media, they are masquerading as media but are basically political persons," Arif Mohammad was quoted saying by ANI.

"There are actually members of a party here. So, if anybody from these channels is attending the press meeting, please leave. I would walk away if there are correspondents from Kairali and Media One. I had categorically mentioned that I will not talk to Kairali and Media One," he added.

Kairali News is the mouthpiece of ruling CPI (M). Media One is facing a ban from the central government over security clearance issues.