BHOPAL, DEC 4: Electronic media journalists in Bhopal today surrendered their entry passes to the MP Assembly secretariat and have decided to boycott Assembly proceedings as well as public functions of Assembly Speaker Sriniwas Tewari.The electronic media is agitating because Star News correspondent Raj Kumar Keswani was denied entry to the Vidhan Sabha. They are also protesting against the Speaker's decision to withdraw permission to install their TV cameras at a pre-determined space within the Vidhan Sabha complex.In a statement, the Madhya Pradesh representatives of TV news channels, including Zee TV, Star News, E TV, Sahara TV, Aaj Tak and ETC News, Jain TV and ANI, said action was taken against Keswani because he led the protest against the Speaker's action regarding the positioning of their cameras. They pointed out that the electronic media was allowed to cover the proceedings in eight state Assemblies of the country and the denial of the opportunity in Madhya Pradesh amounted to interference with the people's right to know what their legislators were doing.MP Working Journalists Union president Jayant Verma also criticised the refusal of an entry pass to Keswani and requested the Speaker to review his decision in the interests of democracy. Verma said that journalists in the print media fully supported the protest by their counterparts in the electronic media.
