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| Journalists body condemns exclusion of accredited Journalists from Darbar Move reopening ceremony | | Ashwani Kumar terms government's decision to restrict media coverage an act of 'immaturity' |  Jammu, November 02 (Scoop News)-The annual Darbar Move reopened at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu on Monday amid tight security, with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah taking the salute of the police guard during the ceremonial opening.
However, the decision to allow only a select few news agencies to cover the opening ceremony has triggered strong resentment among the journalist fraternity.
The Jammu and Kashmir Accredited Journalists Association (JAKAJA) strongly condemned the UT Government for allegedly keeping accredited and working journalists away from the important official function.
Ashwani Kumar, President of JAKAJA, termed the government's decision an act of "immaturity" and questioned the rationale behind restricting media access to an official government ceremony.
"This is called immaturity on the part of the UT Government," Kumar said, expressing concern over what he described as discriminatory treatment of the media.
He questioned when the media was invited by the government to cover live proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, while accredited and professional journalists were denied an opportunity to cover the Darbar Move reopening ceremony.
Kumar alleged that the National Conference-led government was increasingly creating restrictions on the functioning of the media and described the move as an attempt to curb press freedom.
He said the denial of access to accredited and working journalists raised serious concerns about the freedom of the press, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
Drawing a political parallel, Kumar pointed out that former Chief Minister and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah had also spoken about the cause of freedom and democratic rights at Sunday's Ramlila Maidan rally in New Delhi.
"Omar Abdullah's government must understand that press freedom is an essential pillar of democracy. Restricting media access and selectively inviting a few television agencies sends a wrong message. The government cannot speak about democratic freedoms on one platform while denying journalists their professional rights on another," Kumar said.
He further alleged that the government was attempting to "strangulate the voice of the media" and demanded that all accredited and working journalists be given equal opportunities to cover official government functions.
JAKAJA said it would continue to raise the issue of media freedom and demanded that the UT Government explain the reasons behind the selective media invitation for the Darbar Move reopening ceremony.
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