Press bodies react to reporters barred from covering APPSC swearing-in

ITANAGAR, 13 Dec: The Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) and the Arunachal Press Club (APC) on Wednesday strongly condemned the restriction of media.

The statement was issued in the context of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) members’ swearing-in-ceremony held at Raj Bhawan, where journalists were not allowed to cover the event.

The journalists were kept outside the Raj Bhavan gate by the security personnel stating they did not receive any instructions to allow journalists to cover the swearing-in ceremony.

The media bodies further alleged that the state government has neither sent an official invitation nor communication to the journalists to cover such an important event.

“Not inviting journalists to the constitutional posts’ swearing-in ceremony and conducting the event in a hush-hush manner itself is highly questionable,” the state press bodies questioned.

The government and its functionaries should not overlook and undermine the role of media in a democratic set up. Passing information about such an important function to masses is foremost duty of the media, the state media bodies added.