On Sunday, a letter pointing to the “inordinate delay in the election” marring the Press Club went viral on social media. The said letter has also been signed by at least seven journalists from the valley of Kashmir. Several of these journalists, however, denied signing the letter while talking to The Kashmiriyat.
The letter, which does not specify the date it was filed on, has been addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar. It letter begins by pointing that the “inordinate delay in the election process is marring the functioning and the sanctity of the press club.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the Press Club was established for the welfare of journalists, the letter also says that scribes had been suffering disappointment and dejection without elections.
“Moreover, Press Club is a bridge between media, government, and the public but in absence of a legitimate body, our fraternity is suffering.”
Requesting the D.C. Srinagar to announce “fresh elections in the club so that the legitimate body is framed and formed,” it says that “as of now, we want till elections are held an interim body kindly be constituted which should be headed by senior veteran journalist Saleem Pandit who heads the Times of India Bureau in J&K.”
The signatures on the letter are that of the following journalists from the valley: Bilal Ahmad Bhat, Danish Nabi Bhat, Mehraj-ud-Din Dar, Adnan Dar, Faizan Mir, Burhan Hussaini and Naveed ul Haq.
However, journalist Burhan Hussaini took to his Twitter and said that he has no association with the said letter and that he was quarantined at his home for the past fifteen days. “A letter has gone viral on social media with my signature on for conducting fresh elections of the Press Club. I would like to clarify that I have no association with this letter, I do not know who signed this document,” Burhan said.
“Putting my name and my signature without my consent is undemocratic and I have never signed this document. The press club takeover was undemocratic. At the same time, the Press club should not be selective about who to provide memberships,” Burhan said, in another tweet.
“Today morning, I saw a viral post on social media with my consent/signature on it to conduct fresh elections, which is a hoax. I have never signed the letter, in fact, I have been quarantined for the past 15 days at my home,” he added.
Journalist Naveed-ul-Haq whose name and signature is also included in the list also took to his Twitter and said that his name has been used in the letter without his consent. Expressing his concern, he Tweeted, “it’s very shocking & unfortunate to see my name & signature on letter to DC Srinagar to make Saleem Pandit as president, I have no concern whosoever becomes President and have no grudges with anyone but using my name without consent is offending.”
It is pertinent to mention that on Saturday, in a bizarre turn of events, a group of journalists including Mr. Saleem Pandit entered the Kashmir Press Club premises along with armed forces personnel and took over the Press Club. The move was highly condemned by media persons from the valley and the politicians including former Chief Ministers from the erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir Omar Abdullah and Ms. Mehbooba Mufti. The two called it a ‘state-sponsored coup.’
Meanwhile, the Editors Guild of India, on Sunday, released a statement saying that it was “aghast at the manner in which the office and the management of Kashmir Press Club, the largest journalists’ association in the Valley, was forcibly taken over by a group of journalists with the help of armed policemen on January 15, 2022.”
“The Guild further demands an independent inquiry as to how armed forces entered the Club premises,” the statement by the Editors Guild of India said.
Along with the Mumbai Press Club, the Press Club of India, too, condemned the ‘coup’ and said that it was “deeply concerned with the developments with Kashmir Press Club.”
“We demand that the democratic process of holding elections be allowed in a peaceful manner. We appeal to Hon. Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha to look into the matter and facilitate elections,” said the Press Club of India.
However, the “interim body of the Kashmir Press Club” reacted sharply to the malicious propaganda by a section of media quarters even as it requested the Editors Guild of India, the Press Club of India, and the Mumbai Press Club in particular “to know the other side of the story before jumping the gun.”
As for the entry of the armed personnel to the press club premises, the ‘interim’ body said: “The reality is that the policemen shown in the pictures were PSOs of one of the journalists. Moreover, it was a day of Covid lockdown in Srinagar district, and on finding unusually big presence of visitors at the Club, the local police station was enforcing SOPs outside the club on the main road. So who were the ‘armed forced to have barged’ into the Club? Or is a Press Club supposed to be above law?”