Budget session: For first time; media persons won’t be allowed in central hall & lobby of JK Assly

‘Ministers & MLAs to interact with press outside main entrance’

Arvind Sharma

Jammu Tawi, Dec 31: The Government of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has put in place a new arrangement ahead of the upcoming budget session as per which no one, including the media persons, would be allowed in the lobby and the central hall area of the Assembly during the session.

The ministers and the MLAs will now not interact with media persons in the central hall and in the lobby of the J&K Assembly as it earlier used to be.

“A separate area outside the main entrance of the Assembly Secretariat has been designated for the MLAs and the ministers to interact with media persons,” the Speaker said, while adding, “no one will be allowed in the central hall area and lobby, which will be exclusively used by the members of the House including MLAs and the ministers”.

The second budget session of the J&K Assembly is scheduled to begin from 2nd of February onwards at Jammu and high security arrangements have been put in place ahead of the session.

Meanwhile, the entire Assembly Secretariat at Jammu has been readied for the upcoming budget session beginning from 2nd of next month. The new chairs have been put in place both in the media gallery, and the complex has been whitewashed.

Several security check points have been put in place around the civil secretariat and some routes leading to the Assembly complex at Jammu have also been diverted due to security reasons.