Journalists meet chief minister over his deputy's remarks, demand apology

A delegation of journalists on Monday met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and governor K Sankaranarayanan to register their objection to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's conduct at a function held in Nanded recently.

The Patrakar Halla Virodhi Kruti Samiti (a committee that looks into attacks on journalists) said that journalists at the event were manhandled by policemen and Pawar's supporters after the minister accused the media of giving him negative publicity.

At the public meeting in Nanded, Pawar had talked of ''banning'' the media when a television channel cameraman was video recording a farmer, who had interjected the deputy chief minister's speech to raise an issue.

Pawar's supporters tried to prevent the video recording, leading to an altercation with journalists. The police forcibly dispersed the pressmen, with an inspector roughly manhandling some reporters.

The delegation, including the Press Club, Mumbai, demanded that Pawar publicly apologise in the next 48 hours. It has also called for the transfer of the police superintendent of Nanded and the dismissal of the inspector under whose leadership the media was manhandled.

Chavan assured the media he would look into the matter.

The committee said it would meet again on Wednesday to decide the future course of action.

The delegation also pointed out that in the recent past there have been a spate of attacks on journalists across the state and it was time that the Maharashtra Government enacted a law to make attack on journalists a cognizable and non-bailable offence.