Arif Mohammad Khan
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor's office on Tuesday said it has not barred any channel from a press meet.
Four television channels were denied entry to the Raj Bhavan here to cover a press conference held on Monday, prompting political parties and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) to mark their protest saying it violated freedom of the press.
In a tweet, the Governor's office said it was an interaction after certain mediapersons requested an interview.
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"#KeralaRajBhavan had not "barred any channel from Press Meet" as some reports allege. Mediapersons who requested for interview on 24 Oct were invited at a common time, due to paucity of time. This interaction was misunderstood by some as "Press conference"," Governor's office said in a tweet.
Soon after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's press meet, journalists approached Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for his reaction but he refused to comment, but said he won't reply to party cadres masquerading as journalists.
Later, a press interaction was telecast by a few channels but news channels, including Kairali, Reporter, Media One and Jaihind, were not given permission to cover the same.
Mediahouses claimed they sought permission through email but did not get any response.
Opposition Congress has said it was not right on behalf of the Governor, which is a constitutional post, to deny permission to a section of the media.
Meanwhile, the KUWJ registered its protest against the ban on certain channels by saying the ban amounts to encroaching upon freedom of press.
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