MEPA, Press Club seek apology from James
SHILLONG/ NONGPOH: A day after Home Minister and NPP MLA James Sangma’s spat with the press fraternity, the latter decided to pose 24 questions concerning burning issues of the state and seek an early response to these .
The media fraternity met at the Shillong Press Club on Tuesday to discuss about the haughty attitude of the minister and condemned his behaviour.
The meeting decided to send a letter to him seeking his unconditional apology and attach the questions ranging from alleged illegal transportation of coal and the politician-coal mafia nexus, updates of inquiry reports on the matter to Inner Line Permit, among others.
List of questions
on Page 10
The journalists noted that it has become a practice for the minister to avoid the press and hence came up with the questions because he had left in a huff without answering any queries on Monday.
The press fraternity decided to seek an unconditional apology from Sangma for humiliating the press and being rude to a senior member, who had only sought to shake hands and ask some questions only to be brusquely shoved aside.
“We have tried to meet you many times individually and as a group but you have remained elusive for reasons best known to you. On January 6, again we had tried to meet you and waited outside your door for more than three hours seeking answers from the home minister of the state on several issues,” the letter to the Home Minister states.
Anguished over attitude
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Editors and Publishers’ Association (MEPA), which is the apex body of all media houses in Meghalaya, has expressed its grave concern over the incident that occurred on Monday at the Main Secretariat in the city where Home Minister James K Sangma misbehaved with senior journalist EM Jose.
In a statement, John W Thabah, MEPA general secretary, said MEPA in its emergency executive committee meeting held on Tuesday discussed the incident in detail and felt that the behaviour of the home minister towards the senior journalist was unbecoming of his stature since the journalist concerned and his colleagues present had wanted to meet the minister and discuss various issues related to the state.
“Since James K Sangma is a minister in charge of various departments and also the fact that he is the official spokesperson of the MDA government, it is the duty of the journalists to meet him to get the version of the government on various issues. But the manner in which the minister conducted himself and even trying to aggressively confront the senior journalist is totally condemnable and unacceptable,” MEPA said.
In this context, the MEPA has resolved to demand an immediate public apology from Sangma for his misbehaviour towards the senior journalist and also to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.
Media has the right to ask question from those in power and if the right of the media is throttled, the future of democracy will be in peril, the MEPA asserted.
Ri Bhoi reaction
The journalists based in Ri Bhoi, led by Cornelius Laloo, condemned the minister’s behavior on Tuesday and said the “hooligan act” showed that he was not fit to hold such a position.
“If media persons, who form the fourth pillar of democracy, were insulted and bullied this way by the minister himself, we are concerned that fascist rule is beginning to take shape here in our state,” the journalists said during an emergency meeting.
They further said the media has every right to question the minister regarding the departments he is in charge of and he is bound to answer to the people of the state. “If he refuses to do so as he did, he is not fit to hold such a position. The Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, should take serious note of this incident,” they added.
The media persons in the district expressed their solidarity with the senior journalist who, despite being bullied, stood firm on his ethics as a journalist.