Media Walks Out of NIA Event After Being Denied Interview With DG

After being denied the opportunity to ask the DG questions after the speeches, the media staged a walk-out.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Day was celebrated on Wednesday, 24 January, in the presence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Vice President of India. However, the media, agitated about being denied the right to interact with the Director General (DG), decided to stage a boycott.

A group of camerapersons and reporters approaching the DG in order to ask questions after the speeches were over, were asked by the NIA to not go any further. One of the reasons that they were given for this restriction was that the Vice President was present and a question-answer session at that point would violate protocol.

The manner in which they were stopped disappointed the mediapersons present at the event deeply, for they felt they could have been informed earlier that they would not be allowed to get answers to their questions after the speeches.

They told the NIA event organisers that they should be told about the restrictions well in advance so that that each reporter and cameraperson can take an "informed call about attending" such functions.

Mediapersons present at the event have also taken to Twitter to express their outrage.

Media boycotts NIA function. An enclosure separated media from the room where @HMOIndia and Vice President were present. We don't come here to have chai-pakauda @NIA_India stop humiliating the press. pic.twitter.com/abm6kYu3mb

— vijaita singh (@vijaita) January 24, 2018

Humiliating journalists has become #NIA's favourite pass time. Again on its foundation day, media persons walked out from function after being humiliated by @NIA_India men following @rajnathsingh @MVenkaiahNaidu speech. Shame.

— Sumit Kumar Singh (@invincibleidea) January 24, 2018

In his speech, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had opined that the NIA needs to develop skills in cyberspace. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, on the other hand, went on to talk about how Afzal Guru should not be celebrated in India.

I hope that the NIA would continue to focus on all the aspects of financing of terrorism and effectively disrupt the channels and networks of funding to the terrorist organizations.

— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) January 24, 2018

(The NIA has not responded yet. This copy will be updated with NIA's response.)

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