Editors Guild slams curbs on journalists access within Parliament

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has condemned the new restrictions on journalists’ access within the Parliament and has reiterated the Guild’s earlier demand to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, urging removal of access restrictions on journalists from reporting on House proceedings.

EGI’s response comes on the back of the removal of journalists from Makar Dwar, one of the entrances to the new Parliament building where they usually interact with ministers and Member of Parliament.

EGI had earlier also urged Birla and Dhankar to remove the COVID-era restrictions on journalists, which, the Guild said, prevented the media from covering the Parliamentary proceedings efficiently.

In its letter dated July 1, 2024 to the Lok Sabha Speaker, EGI had written, “Some 1,000 media persons from print and electronic medium have been admitted to cover the proceedings of the Parliament. Now, only a fraction of them are provided access without transparent process or procedure.”