New Delhi. March 22: Several organisations of the working journalists in the country strongly protested against the reconstitution of the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) without including the nominees of the representative organisations. In a joint statement issued here on Thursday, the National Union of Journalists (India) (NUJ(I) , Indian Journalists Union (IJU), Press Association (PA) and Working News Cameramen Association (WNCA) said that it was the first time that the CPAC was constituted by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) by cherry picking journalists in the committee excluding the nominees of the representative organisations.
“It is very unfortunate that the present Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) does not have a representative character to protect the interests the working journalists and their collective voice excluded in deciding in giving accreditation. By nominating the ‘cherry picked’ journalists in the committee, the government chose to send a strong signal to the working journalists that it will have its way in giving or denying accreditation to working journalists. This amounts to an attack on independent journalism and is not acceptable,” the statement said.
The working journalists organisations demanded that the newly constituted Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) should be scrapped and new committee be constituted by giving representation to all the organisations as was done in the past.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists (India) (NUJ(I)), Indian Journalists Union (IJU), Press Association (PA) and Working News Cameramen Association (WNCA) welcomed the decision of the I&B Ministry to nominate journalists on the Journalists Welfare Committee.