Journalists demand restoration of access to Parliamentary proceedings ahead of Monsoon session

A large section of the media has expressed dissatisfaction with not having access to parliamentary proceedings ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which begins on July 19.

In a letter, signed by representatives of the Press Club of India, the Editors Guild of India, the Press Association, the Delhi Union of Journalists, and the Working News Cameramen's Association, it has been alleged that "only a handful of journalists" are having the privilege of reporting from the press gallery and Central Hall of the Lok Sabha.

On Wednesday (July 14), the Press Club of India, with the backing of these five media organizations, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting full access for journalists to the next Monsoon Session. Journalists have been deprived of information from the government, according to a memorandum of requests delivered to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday.

"If members of the press are denied normal access, they will be unable to undertake their job of informing the public about what is happening in Parliament," it stated. The journalists used the chance to express their views on the government's preparedness to respond to media inquiries to Om Birla.

The paper noted, "There appears to be a tendency of isolating Parliament and parliamentarians from media scrutiny." Then associations also contested that journalists require access to the Lok Sabha and Central Hall press galleries, which has been a tradition in India since the country's independence. They bemoaned the fact that "this tradition has been adversely shaken" for the sake of adhering to COVID rules.

The memorandum requested the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to "take proactive efforts to restore full access for journalists, reinstate Media Passes for all categories with immediate effect, and initiate the renewal process immediately."

The Press Club of India also requested the Speaker to sympathize with regional media journalists, many of whom are part-time workers who have been laid off as a result of the Lok Sabha's media limitations.

The media also stated that copies of various bills introduced in the House, as well as ministerial responses and Question Hour transcripts, should be uploaded immediately in order to provide "accurate reporting" of the topics at hand.