The decision is the result of complaints made by Ministers

In a far reaching development, the Telangana government is understood to have taken a decision to bar entry of media personnel into the Secretariat from the next few days.

The decision said to have been taken by the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is consequence of a series of complaints lodged by Ministers and bureaucrats about the large posse of media that is seen inside the Secretariat on any given day.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said when other States were implementing the rule, there was nothing wrong in regulating the entry of media personnel into the State Secretariat. The government is said to have taken a cue from the decision of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to restrict entry of media into Secretariat, Assembly and other government offices.

“Presence of a number of visitors and journalists in the offices of the Ministers and bureaucrats was affecting their smooth functioning. Some journalists are reportedly harassing bureaucrats,” sources in the CMO told The Hindu .

The flash point according to officials was the acts of certain journalists to forcibly get into the lifts along with Ministers and officials and causing inconvenience to them. At the recent principal secretary level conference with the Chief Minister, several IAS officers bitterly complained about the conduct of media personnel.

Sources said Intelligence Department had also submitted a report to the Chief Minister expressing concern over the entry of several journalists. “The Intelligence sleuths have raised security concerns as the media personnel frequented not only the Chief Minister’s office but also chambers of the Ministers. We are not able to differentiate between genuine journalists and others,” officials quoting the Intelligence Department report remarked.

It is understood that at one stage, proposal was mooted that entry should be restricted only for select media houses. The government decided against the proposal fearing protests from other publications and television channels. The Chief Minister is said to have asked the officials to provide the necessary information to the media immediately instead of media being invited to the Secretariat. All relevant information about review meetings, pictures would be sent by mail, officials said adding that space has become a big constraint after bifurcation.

When contacted, a senior CMO official told The Hindu that entry of journalists was only being regulated due to various reasons. “Henceforth, journalists can fix an appointment with Ministers and officials through the concerned PR officers and enter the Secretariat,” the official said.