NEW DELHI : Several Opposition leaders and journalists’ unions on  Monday voiced concerns after the government restricted the movement of accredited journalists in Parliament premises. The issue was taken up by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who requested Speaker Om Birla to remove the restrictions on the media to move around.

“I would request you to allow the media, who have been restricted to a cage, to move out,” Gandhi said. However, Birla said that such issues should be discussed in the chamber and not on the floor of the House. Later, Gandhi met journalists in the media enclosure.

On Monday,several journalists were asked to stay in the glass enclosure on the premises and not crowd the main entrance ‘Makar Dwar’. Journalists who cover Parliament point out that there is no other way than waiting at the main entrance to interact with MPs. “There is limited access to MPs inside the new Parliament,” said a journalist. Delhi Union of Journalists said it was shocked at the government’s move.

“This move denies them access to MPs. Journalists were today forced to hold a silent protest against these restrictions in the premises. This is unprecedented. It must be noted that those who cover Parliament are senior, accredited journalists who have been vetted and given security clearance. Why should their movements be restricted and their access to MPs denied?” it said in a statement.

It further pointed out that in recent years, the number of passes issued to journalists wanting to cover Parliament has been sharply cut down. “Several moves have been made in recent years to deny media per-sons access to government offices and an unofficial ban imposed on government officials to stop them from speaking to journalists,” it said.

At the Business Advisory Council meeting, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi demanded that the restrictions on media persons in the House imposed since Covid be removed. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later met with journalists and assured them that issues on restriction of movements would be addressed.