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| Extends invite to media and then asks to leave unceremoniously | | BJP plays a hostile host | | Kunal Shrivatsa
Jammu, Aug 19: Over enthusiasm sometimes backfires and this is what exactly happened during a daylong Booth Level Workers' Convention held here today at KK Resorts, Udheywala, Talab Tillo as despite extending a formal invitation to media persons, they were asked to leave the venue just before the event had to commence.
The 'commandment' to media persons to leave the meeting hall fumed them since they had not come on their own but were formally invited through an email sent by media cell of BJP to all media organizations/reporters and cameramen.
The drama began when the General Secretary of BJP Bali Bhagat, who was managing the dais, repeatedly asked the media persons to go out after clicking few shots of the Chief Guest, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Zubin Irani.
The announcement made by senior BJP leader infuriated the media persons representing local as well as national organizations, who jumped on to the dais and almost gheraoed Smriti Irani, who by then had arrived at venue amid the chaotic scenes.
The media fraternity present on the occasion protested the move and termed it 'offensive' and 'derogatory' towards the press which had come only after an invitation was extended to them.
"Most of the media persons, who had gathered there to cover the event, were unceremoniously asked to leave the venue…. The BJP treated the media shabbily… It was height of unprofessionalism… The BJP cannot take the media for granted if it is in pursuit of 'Mission 44+' for the forthcoming Assembly polls," said one of the senior media persons at the venue.
"The BJP leadership after realizing their mistake that presence of media in the meeting could expose their weak-points which prompted the dictate to reporters and cameramen to leave the venue," he added.
One of the senior journalists representing a national news channel along with few others approached Irani and demanded an explanation that when they were not supposed to sit inside the meeting hall to cover the proceedings then why they were invited.
Some of the journalists even waved their cell phones towards Irani to show her the invitation received by them.
Soon Irani got hold of one of the mobiles of a reporter and came to know about the goof up committed by State BJP.
The State BJP functionaries had to cut a sorry figure in front of Union HRD Minister as she admitted that it was a mistake to invite media for a party meeting.
"The State BJP media cell has committed a grave mistake for which it needs to apologize to the media," said Irani.
However, till the filing of this report no written apology was sent by the BJP's media cell or for that matter from any of its leaders or spokespersons. |
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