PM Narendra Modi will address a public meeting in Himachal’s Bilaspur, besides inaugurating a campus of the AIIMS. He will also participate in the Kullu Dussehra celebrations.
All journalists have been asked to produce a character certificate for access and security passes to cover Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to Poll-bound Himachal Pradesh tomorrow.
All eyes are set on the prime minister’s visit tomorrow after his last rally in the state – scheduled for September 24 in Mandi – was called off citing bad weather, reported India Today.
The district administration’s order has sparked a major controversy.
Not just the privately-owned print, digital, and news television journalists, but even representatives of the state-run media, including the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan have been asked to bring certificates of “character verification”. Official notification was also issued by the police on September 29, 2022, on the issue.
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The notification asked the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) to supply a list of all press correspondents, photographers, videographers, and teams of Doordarshan and AIR along with “a certificate of their character verification”.
“The certificate of character verification may be supplied to the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID, Bilaspur by October 1, 2022 positively. Their access within the rally or meeting will be decided by this office,” the notification read.
Reacting to the police notification, Aam Aadmi Party Spokesperson Pankaj Pandit spaeking to India Today said that in his 22 years of career in journalism, he is witnessing such a bizarre demand for the first time now.
“Modi ji is not visiting the state for the first time. The demand to produce a character certificate is humiliating and an attempt to curb the media’s activities,” the AAP leader said.
The chief spokesperson of the Himachal Congress committee, Naresh Chauhan, also condemned the administration’s demand and said the move was against the freedom of the media.
The DPRO Bilaspur, when contacted, refused to accept the official identity cards to issue security passes, saying that the character certificate was mandatory. He even demanded an official stamp on the digital ID cards of journalists.
“This formality is mandatory to all. The SP and CID departments are asking for the certificates of character verification,” DPRO Kuldeep Guleria was quoted saying by India Today
Interestingly, while the journalists were being asked to produce certificates of character verification, thousands who will be brought in to attend the rally will not be required to produce any identity proof.
PM Narendra Modi will address a public meeting in Himachal’s Bilaspur, besides inaugurating a campus of the AIIMS. He will also participate in the Kullu Dussehra celebrations.
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