It looks as if the Jagan Mohan Reddy government considers journalists in Andhra Pradesh as his rivals.
Ironically, he tags the journalists on par with the TDP and keeps them at distance.
While it is only three media houses that haunt his government on a regular basis as a campaign, the government treats all media houses and all journalists as rivals.
It is surprising to note that the government doesn’t even recognise the presence of media and journalists other than Eenadu, Andhra Jyothi and TV5.
In an attempt to take revenge on these media houses, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government had imposed several restrictions on the media and journalists.
It is high time that those who matter in the Jagan government should open up their eyes and see journalists beyond these three media houses.
It took more than two-and-a-half years for the government to issue accreditation card, which costs nothing for the government.
Perhaps for the first time in the country, journalists have no representation in the accreditation committee, which was filled by the Jagan government with bureaucrats.
The journalist health cards too are denied and the ex-gratia to the journalists who died due to covid 19 is not paid.
Though there are half-a-dozen senior journalists in the government as advisors, the journalists in the state are not happy as nothing is done for them in the last two years.
The journalists are the most deprived and disappointed lot in Andhra Pradesh and the Indian Journalists Union is planning for a state-wide agitation in support of the journalists.
