The Press Club of India in an Open letter to Parliamentarians has urged them to take note of continued denial of access to journalists in Parliament.
The statement said Parliamentary authorities had claimed that access was being restricted in keeping with the COVID-19 protocol. But now, they pointed out, when malls, restaurants and movie theatres had opened up, the restriction on media entry in Parliament continued. The statement said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had promised that all the restrictions would be removed, but that had come to naught.
“We are concerned that there is a depressing trend emerging to isolate parliament and parliamentarians from media gaze. The trend augurs ill for parliamentary democracy and [is] much against the spirit of our parliamentary democracy,” the statement said.
