State advts stopped to 2 newspapers, alleges KEG

SRINAGAR: The Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) Friday claimed that the government has stopped state government advertisements to two major local dailies here and sought the attention of the Press Council of India and the Editors Guild to exercise their legal, ethical and professional mandate to intervene in the issue and ensure that the media was not strangulated.

"With utmost regret, Kashmir Editors Guild wishes to inform that the Jammu and Kashmir government has stopped state government advertisements to two major daily newspapers Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader. The decision has neither been conveyed formally nor was any reason detailed to the respective organisations, so far," a spokesman of the guild said in a statement.

He said the KEG, in a detailed meeting, discussed the issue and decided to fight the deliberate strangulation and subversion of the institution of media in the state.

"At a time when the democracy is in suspension, the KEG is seeking the attention of the Press Council of India and the Editors Guild of India to exercise their legal, ethical and professional mandate to intervene in the issue and ensure that the media in one of the most sensitive states is not strangulated. The guild decided to move the council and would also involve the Editors Guild of India," the spokesman said.
The guild reiterated that the media in Kashmir is one of the most professional media and it has retained its neutrality even at the cost of lives.

The KEG appealed to the state government, led by Governor S P Malik, and his policy makers that the "negative intervention" in the media is "compromising the Constitution as it goes against the constitutional guarantees within which the media operates in Kashmir and outside".

Meanwhile, former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah criticised the decision to allegedly stop government advertisements in the two papers.

"For reasons best known to him, the Guvs (governor's) admin (administration) in J&K has gone beyond its brief & is in no mood to step back. The decision to stop giving ads to local newspapers GK (Greater Kashmir) & Kashmir Reader is a punitive measure to force them into submission. Are they trying to stifle free press?" Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

"In a classic case of shooting the messenger the state government is reported to have blocked Greater Kashmir newspaper group from any government advertisements. If true I'm not sure what this move is meant to achieve other than to create a pliant, subservient media," Omar said.