New Delhi: Premiere Media Bodies like the Editors Guild of India, the All-India Newspaper Editors Conference and the Hindi Samachar Patra Sammelan have nominated jointly one Junaid Ahmed, who is a personal attendant of editor Uttamchand Sharma. Junaid Ahmed is described as “News Editor” of a Hindi eveninger (Chingari) of Bijnor at Muzaffarnagar. Press Council Chairman – Justice C.K. Prasad has held back Junaid’s nomination ordering a probe on the same.
In the website of the Press Council (www.presscouncil.nic.in )the order of the Chairman, Mr. Justice C.K. Prasad dated 18th January 2018 says: “On perusal of the record I find that the panels, submitted by Editors Guild of India, Hindi Samachar Patra Sammelen and All India Newspaper Editors Conference (AINEC) for the nomination of Editors, among the working journalist categories, do not contain twice the number of members to be nominated under the said category. Further Ms. Manini Chaterjee and Mr. Juned Ahamad do not claim to be the Editors.”
The order further stated, “The panels of names, filed by the Indian Journalists Union, National Union of Journalists (India), Press Association and Working News Cameramen’s Association, for nomination under the category of Working Journalists other than Editors, contain the names of Shri Joginder Singh Chawla, Shri S N Sinha, Shri Ras Bihari, Shri Geetartha Pathak, Shri Harish Chand Tiwari, Shri Jagdish Chandra Verma, Shri Pradeep Sharma and Shri V.S. Suresh Kumar They do not claim to be employed as journalists, either whole time or part-time in or in relation to one or more newspaper establishments.The aforesaid in infirmities shall have bearing on the nominations.”
The above action by the Chairman of Press Council exposes the serious flaws in the system of procedures and merit standards followed in appointment of Panel members of Press Council and rather they are dictated by the whims and fancies of the few office bearers.
Mr. Raj Changappa, Group Editor of the Tribune and formerly of India Today heads the Editors Guild and Prakash Dubey (Nagpur) is his General Secretary. The AINEC is led by the Guptas (Ramesh and brother Vishwabandhu). Hindi Samachar Patra Sammelan is led by Shitala Singh (Faizabad) and Uttamchand Sharma, who calls himself Editor of the Muzaffarnagar Bulletin, whose owner and publisher is Ms. Lajwanti Uttamchand Sharma. He is in the Press Council for 15 long years and is once again seeking a three-year term. He was the convener of the disputed PCI scrutiny committee in which claimant associations had themselves approved by vote of their own nominees. Prosecutor in the role of a Judge.
