Congress, BJP seek steps to end media-advocates tiff

With the tiff between reporters and lawyers over media coverage of a case showing no signs of abating, Kerala Congress today sought the Governor's intervention to settle it and BJP asked the government to call an all party meeting to end the impasse.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President V M Sudheeran in a letter to Governor Justice (retd) P Sathasivam requested him to take the initiative in "lifting the ban of media persons from entering the court premises".
Sudheeran said the Governor should hold talks with the Chief Minister, High Court Chief Justice, Chief Information Commissioner and representatives of Bar Councils and journalists and reach a consensus acceptable to both parties.

BJP State General Secretary M T Ramesh alleged that with the restriction for media persons in courts, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was implementing an undeclared ban across the state.
"The government is denying the people's right to know," he said, adding the 'silence' of the Chief Minister, who has to take steps to end it, was a mystery.
He demanded that an all-party meeting be convened to discuss all these matters.

Protests by advocates against the media started last week over coverage of a molestation case involving a government pleader, Dhanesh Mathew Manjooran at Kochi.
He was arrested on July 15 on the charge of allegedly attempting to molest a woman in a lane in that city.

On July 20, some lawyers had allegedly attacked media persons outside the High Court in Kochi, injuring five persons.
Media persons under the banner of Kerala Union of Working Journalists had then staged a sit in and gave it up after assurances of action.
The next day, some lawyers went on a rampage at district court complex in Thiruvananthapuram, pelting stones and empty beer bottles at media persons, injuring at least five of them.
KUWJ has demanded a probe by an Assembly committee and strict action against those responsible.