A scuffle broke out between journalists and security personnel in the Jharkhand Assembly complex on Monday ahead of the special session to move the confidence motion by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Journalists were stopped at the door of the assembly hall when they tried to forcibly enter and were pushed back by security personnel.
A section of journalists and photo journalists said they were not allowed to enter the assembly despite having the necessary passes.
A senior official of the Assembly denied the allegations and said those with valid passes did not face any problem in entering the House.
“We allowed journalists who passed the previous session. Entry rules are specifically mentioned in the past,” he said when contacted.
The Jharkhand Assembly on Monday did not issue any passes for journalists for the special session. The security personnel allowed entry to those carrying them near the monsoon session.
Scribes, on the other hand, said that no notice on the pass was given by the Assembly.
Three types of passes were issued during the monsoon session – white for photojournalists, pink, and green for journalists.
Many of them carried their white and pink passes to reach the assembly building, which is located about 10 km from the main city. White pass holders were asked to stay outside, while pink pass holders were allowed inside but not allowed to enter the main press gallery. Instead, they were asked to watch the proceedings of the House in the press room on television.
Green pass holders were granted entry to the main press gallery on the condition that they do not carry mobile phones or bags of any kind.
Later, BJP chief whip Biranchi Narayan said, “We strongly condemn the scuffle between journalists and security personnel in the assembly premises. The government wanted to hide the activities of the House from the media. Hence the media persons who were given access to the press gallery were not allowed to carry mobile phones.
Narayan claimed that the ruling UPA MLAs were brought in a bus and entered the premises through the gate used by the chief minister instead of gate number two, which is usually used by MPs.
“It was an act to hide the MLAs from the eyes of journalists.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren, facing uncertainty over his continuation in the post after the BJP’s plea seeking his disqualification as an MLA in an office of profit case, moved a confidence motion in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday. , which passed it. A total of 48 MLAs of the 81-member House voted in favor of the motion amid a walkout by BJP legislators.
