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Mamata waging war against media
Mamata waging war against media, Taking strong exception to the clampdown and the arrest threat, the Press Club of Kolkata has dubbed the move as \"aimed at stifling the voice\" of the fourth estate.
Kolkata: “Don't loiter around or you will be arrested” - a policeman's warning, usually used against criminals or anti-social alements, was in fact directed towards journalists. The unusual scene of a policeman threatening to arrest reporters for doing what they do best - hunting for news - actually panned out at West Bengal's seat of power.
The clampdown on media persons at the state secretariat Nabanna, in nearby Howrah, finds its source in a police circular issued earlier in the year that spelled out the "Standard Operating Procedure" of movement within the secretariat, restricting the reporters to the press corner located on the first floor. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been virtually at war with a section of media, especially since her government and the ruling Known for their ubiquitous presence, media persons at the 14-storey Nabanna - the seat of government moved to Howrah because of renovation work being carried out at the historic Writers' Building - are now preferring to stay away from the regular media beats and ministers.
Taking strong exception to the clampdown and the arrest threat, the Press Club of Kolkata has dubbed the move as "aimed at stifling the voice" of the fourth estate. However, it is not Nabanna alone, the media is unwanted in other places also. If a battery of lawyers defending state minister Madan Mitra, arrested in the Saradha scam, wanted journalists to be shooed away during court proceedings, the Bidhannagar police have now restricted the entry of journalists to the CGO complex housing the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) offices, citing "instructions from higher-ups".
Both the agencies are probing the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam and have grilled/arrested a host of Trinamool leaders including its MPs. While opposition parties and civil society members have slammed the attack on the fourth estate, political analyst Biswanath Chakrabarty finds a sinister motive behind the restrictions at Nabanna.
"More than anything else, the move is aimed at keeping the journalists away from the bureaucrats, many of whom are disenchanted with the high-handedness of the state government. The ruling Trinamool Congress is afraid that these disenchanted bureaucrats may leak out crucial information to media, which may be damaging especially with the municipal polls coming," Chakrabarty, a Rabindra Bharati University professor.
By: Anurag Dey
