KEG stages protest against ban on advertisements to two members
Srinagar: Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) on Sunday held a protest at Kashmir Press Club, Srinagar against the government’s ban on advertisements to two major dailies published from Srinagar:
Senior editors and journalists took part in the protest to demand revocation of ban on advertisements to the two English dailies.
A member of the KEG said that the media body regrets the continued silence of the governor’s administration over the unexplained and murky denial of the government advertisements to the two major newspapers.
“In the last 15 days, we had repeatedly asked the government to, at least, indicate the reasons for the puzzling decision but we have not been fortunate in getting even an iota in this regard,” he said.
The intervention has the potential of impacting the state and status of journalism in Kashmir, the statement issued said.
“We consider the decision against democracy and in violation of the free media that is guaranteed by the constitution. Tragically, the decision has been taken at a time when one of the elaborate electoral exercises is about to start,” the KEG statement added.
The Guild has already moved to the Press Council of India and has intimated the Editors Guild of India as well.
Notably, KEG members had published blank front pages on Sunday to mark their protest against the government decision.
“Publishing with a blank front page in our newspapers on Sunday is an act of protest to convey the readers and the authorities about the puzzling decision-making. We see the decision as an attempt at subversion of the institution of media and we see it in continuation of what has been happened to this institution in the last 30 years,” the KEG statement said.
KV Network
