Dramatic scenes were witnessed at Kashmir Press Club in Srinagar on Saturday after a group of journalists led by M. Salim Pandit took over the control of the Club.
Journalists' bodies in Kashmir denounced the action, terming it “illegal and arbitrary”.
The takeover, according to sources, happened after some policemen arrived at the Club located at posh Residency Road at 1.45 pm.
Pandit, who works with the Times of India, and ten other journalists held a meeting in the Club and announced the takeover through the Club’s WhatsApp group and email address.
“Various journalist organisations across Kashmir valley unanimously decided to form an interim body of three members with M. Salim Pandit as president, Zulfikar Majid, bureau chief of Deccan Herald, as general secretary and Arshid Rasool, editor of Daily Gadyal, as treasurer of the club till elections are held in free and fair manner,” the announcement read.
Delay in holding fresh elections after the expiry of the term of the previous managing body was cited as one of the reasons for setting up the interim body.
“The previous committee delayed the elections for unknown reasons and the club was headless thereafter for around six months, putting the media fraternity in unwanted trouble,’’ a statement said.
Elections to the committee were due in August, however, due to the delay in the re-registration in view of changed status of Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a Union Territory and clearance from the J&K Police’s CID had delayed the holding of elections on time.
After the CID clearance, the managing body had said fresh elections would be held in February. However, soon after the announcement of dates for fresh elections, the CID clearance was put in abeyance by the authorities.
In a joint statement, various journalists' bodies reacted sharply to the takeover of the club in what some called a “military style coup”.
The journalists’ bodies including Press Photographer Association (KPPA), Kashmir Press Club (KPC), Jammu and Kashmir Journalist Association (JAKJA), Kashmir Video Journalist Association (KVJA), Kashmir Working Journalists Association, Kashmir National Television Journalist Association (KNTJA), and Kashmir Journalist Association (KJA) in joint statement said, “On January 15, the day when the administration had declared weekend lockdown in view of COVID surge, a group of journalists barged into the Club office and forcibly took control of the Club by keeping the office members hostage. A large number of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed beforehand for this highly condemnable and completely illegal move”.
The statement said allowing a few disgruntled elements to hoodwink the club constitution, bylaws, and flout all norms of law, has set a wrong and dangerous precedent.
