Mediapersons demand ban on 'Saamna'

A protest led by the Press Club of India on Saturday against the Shiv Sena attack on offices of IBN Lokmat asked the Election Commission to de-recognise the party and demanded a ban on its mouthpiece Saamna.

Journalists from across media networks participated in the protest organised by the PCI. Those who attended include Vinay Tewari, managing editor CNN-IBN, Prabal Pratap Singh and M K Jha, executive editors in IBN7, Vivian Fernandes, economics editor CNBC TV-18, and human rights activist Gautam Navlakha.

The journalists demanded a ban on Saamna. They also asked the Election Commission to de-recognise the party.

The PCI was represented by its secretary general Pushpendra and president Pervez Ahmed.

Tewari stressed the need to follow up on all cases of attacks on the media in the past few years. Prabal Pratap criticised the owning up of the attack by Shiv Sena, saying it appeared as if some militant organisation was owning up a particular terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, a press release from CNN-IBN said the media persons who met Chavan today demanded a ban on Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' and urged the Election Commission to de-recognise the party.

PCI secretary general Pushpendra said there was aneed for a regular update on follow-up in cases of media attacks across the country.