Journalists will have to give character certificates to cover PM event in Himachal tomorrow

All eyes are set on the prime minister’s visit tomorrow after his last rally in the state - scheduled for September 24 in Mandi - was cancelled over bad weather.

All journalists have been asked to produce a character certificate for access and security passes to cover Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to Himachal Pradesh tomorrow. All eyes are set on the prime minister’s visit tomorrow after his last rally in the state - scheduled for September 24 in Mandi - was cancelled over bad weather.

The district administration’s order has sparked off a major controversy.

Not just the privately-owned print, digital and news television journalists, even representatives of the state-run media, including the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan have been asked to bring certificates of “character verification”. An official notification was also issued by the police on September 29, 2022 on the issue.

The notification asked the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) to supply a list of all press correspondents, photographers, videographers, and teams of Doordarshan and AIR along with “a certificate of their character verification”.

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"The certificate of character verification may be supplied to the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID, Bilaspur by October 1, 2022 positively. Their access within the rally or meeting will be decided by this office," the notification said.

Reacting to the police notification, AAP Spokesperson Pankaj Pandit told India Today TV that in his 22 years of career in journalism, he is witnessing such a bizarre demand for the first time now.