A section of scribes protest at PCI while other celebrate Diwali milan with PM

In a Diwali Milan celebration today at Bhartiya Janata Party’s Ashok Road headquarter in New Delhi while the prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah have exhibited a grand gesture to merrily mix with the journalists of the national media, electronics as well as print including its photographers, particularly those covering the the BJP and government affairs for a long time on the other hand at the Press club of India several journalist organisations were vociferously deploring the arrest of the former BBC journalist Vinod Verma terming it as arbitrary and attack on the freedom of the press.

It was just a coincidence that while a section of the media men and photo journalists were busy interacting, merrily shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with prime minister Modi who voluntarily mixed with journalists at BJP headquarter, another section of media men were worried and concerned over the arrest of one of the scribe of their fraternity from Delhi yesterday on allegedly false and fabricated charges as pronounced by them in the protest meeting at Press Club of India, Raisina Road just less than a half a kilometer away from the BJP’s national headquarter. Sounds interesting.

Prime Minister Modi while addressing the leaders , workers of BJP before posing for photographs with the media men and photographers, majority of whom he knew personally said the internal democracy in political parties is utmost essential to strengthen democratic values. He spoke extempore and also remembered his old days when he functioned from the BJP headquarter and looked for journalists for the political briefs and publication of his point of view.

He spoke at length on strengthen the inner party democracy in political parties and praised the media for outrightly supporting his flagship initiative on Swach Bharat Abhiyan and stressed the need for maintaining better, cordial and trustful relations between the fourth estate and political parties despite differences in opinion. He also touched several other significant issues particularly how the BJP has accorded bright opportunities to young party cadre in the oganisational hierarchy as compared to the dynastic promotion in rival political party without naming the Congress.

Prime minister Modi merrily mixed, interacted and shook hands with journalists and press photographers and also posed with them for pictures. Some journalists and press photographers seemed to quite happy and eager to pose with the most popular prime minister of the largest democracy of the world while at the press club of India the senior journalists held a protest meeting against the arrest of the former digital editor of Amar Ujala and BBC terming it arbitrary and on fabricated and concocted grounds to stifle the free voice.

SUNIL NEGI