Banagalore: On Monday, reporters and a stream of visitors to the Vidhana Soudha were in for a rude shock when the security personnel stopped them at the gate telling them entry to the secretariat would be allowed only after 11.30 am.
While the security men on duty remained mum and gave no reason for the ‘new rule’, secretariat sources revealed that with social welfare minister H. Anjaneya coming in for much criticism for demolishing a wall in his new chamber at the soudha, they had been instructed to “stop the flow of visitors (and media)” to avoid more publicity while he cleans up. When the media was finally allowed in, rooms 340 and 340 A, whose partition wall had been demolished, were locked and even the adjacent chambers appeared to have suffered a ‘power cut’.
When asked about it, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah brushed aside the incident saying he saw no reason why the media should be allowed to enter the secretariat before 11.30 am. “All work starts only by 11 am,” he contended.
Toeing the official line, DCP (Vidhana Soudha) Lakshman Singh too denied that entry had been restricted on Monday and asserted the media would be allowed inside the Soudha between 10 am and 5.30 pm. “Only if there is an early morning or late evening event, can we allow the media in sooner. Otherwise, the Soudha is open to all only during the working hours, ” he said.
The BJP, however, accused the Congress government of infringing on press freedom. Said former minister, S. Suresh Kumar, “The Congress has always been anti-media. But its sad that Siddaramaiah who comes from Jayaparakash Narayan’s socialist movement, is also behaving like a typical Congressman.”
Leader of the Opposition in council, D.V. Sadananda Gowda accused the Chief Minister of being soft in dealing with Anjaneya. “The CM is not in a position to advise his minister. He has no control over the cabinet and is taking advice from so-called intellectuals. I am afraid all the walls in Vidhana Soudha will eventually meet the same fate,” he quipped.
