The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has announced that it would observe protest day on October 2, the birthday of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
In a statement issued on Tuesday K. Sreenivas Reddy, President, and Balwinder Singh Jammu, Secretary-General of IJU said that the Union in its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting was held virtually on September 12 resolved to this effect.
The NEC has recalled that last year also the IJU has observed protest day on the birth anniversary of Mahatma. The IJU leaders said the NEC noted with concern that the situation on the ground remained the same forcing the Union to do the same thing for the second consecutive year.
The IJU has been demanding Rs.50 lakh life insurance to all working journalists on par with other frontline warriors against corona and payment of solatium to the families of journalists who succumbed to covid.
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During the last one and half years there were huge job losses and wage cuts in the field of journalism in the name of the pandemic, the IJU leaders said and added that the Union Government has done precious little to rectify this situation.
And during this pandemic period rights situation has become very grim with state agencies at both the union level and state level resorting to foisting false cases against independent journalists and media houses and rights activists, artists, writers, advocates, and thinkers.
The National Executive of IJU in its resolution has rued the fact that despite protests and wise counsel at home and timely flagging off these issues by several alarmed international watchdog organizations the powers that be chose not to act and make amends. The 10 months old farmers’ protest with reasonable and just demands is being vilified instead of being addressed.
The IJU leaders said, under these circumstances, the NEC has felt the need to repeat its peaceful protest on the day the Mahatma, the compelling teacher of nonviolence and satyagraha was born.
They appealed to the affiliate state unions to take up suitable programmes on the coming October 2 to highlight the demands of IJU and register their protest against the callousness of the Government.
SOURCE: NSS
