Media entry restricted at Delhi Secretariat

NEW DELHI: After a free-for-all on Saturday, the Delhi government unexpectedly clamped down on the entry of journalists to Delhi Secretariat for the greater part of Monday. Media persons, including those with the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) and Press and Information Bureau ( PIB) accreditation, were denied entry into the secretariat complex which is normally allowed. Instead, they were asked to wait in the designated media room outside the main building. When they finally managed to get through to the ministers, Manish Sisodia was called in to resolve the crisis. Those who had been waiting since noon could enter the premises only after 4pm.

When journalists, who had been allowed access to the secretariat for over a decade, were refused entry by the staff, which cited an official order restricting the media to the press room near the entry gate of the main building, protests broke out. Tempers frayed when health minister Satyendra Kumar Jain arrived for a scheduled media briefing two-and-half hours late.

An official mail from the Delhi information and publicity department had invited journalists to a press meet at 12pm. Journalists rushed to the secretariat and waited endlessly but there was no sign of the health minister and there was no information officer to guide the journalists. Jain came much later and appeared clueless. "I have no experience of the communications system. How can I tell you why the media is denied entry?" he said, and later walked out of the media room.

Later, senior AAP leader and urban development minister Manish Sisodia, himself a former journalist, had a chat. He assured them the government would maintain transparency. "We will take all steps to enhance transparency and access to the media. A system will be put in place," Sisodia said while instructing officers to open access to the media.

AAP leaders said the orders to restrict media entry were issued because there was too much chaos on Saturday when the ministers visited the secretariat for the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony. "There were media persons all over the building. We cannot work like that. However, steps are being taken ensure a smooth and transparent mechanism for communications," Sisodia said conceding that the restriction must be eased and that there should be a coordination system in place.

Journalists' entry was also restricted outside chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's house in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad. They were stopped outside the society gates with AAP supporters deciding to keep the media at a distance.