New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has called for the repeal of restrictions on journalists covering Parliament proceedings, imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The Guild highlighted that the COVID-19 protocols had limited journalists' access to both Houses, including those with permanent accreditation. "The country has fought the scourge and moved on, and we hope limiting access is also done away with," the letter stated.
While 1,000 journalists from both print and electronic media are accredited to cover Parliament, "only a fraction of them are provided access," the Guild noted.
The letter reminded that the practice of granting "unfettered access to journalists" began with the first Parliament session in 1952.
"The objective was to keep the people abreast with the work of their representatives, developments inside the House, and dynamics outside through the media, which is vital in a parliamentary democracy," the Guild said. It also expressed concern that there has been no Press Advisory Committee in the past few years, according to Scroll.in reported.