Members of various journalist associations have condemned a statement made by Minister for Women and Child Welfare Lakshmi Hebbalkar terming journalists of Belagavi as immature and unintelligent.
In a meeting here on Thursday, the journalist-members passed a resolution condemning the statement the Minister made during a programme to felicitate Chief Minister’s media advisor K.V. Prabhakar at the Kannada Bhavan here.
The Minister, in her speech, said that journalists in Udupi district, where she is in-charge of the district, are mature, educated, intelligent, pro-people and development-oriented. She asked local journalists to learn from their counterparts there.
The local journalists, however, demanded that she withdraw her statement and seek an unconditional apology.
They also resolved to complain against the Minister to the AICC leadership, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and district in-charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi.
Some journalists working with TV channels said that they have suffered humiliation at the hands of the Minister in the past. TV journalist Dilip Kurundawade shared his personal experience of suffering humiliation at the hands of the Minister and her staff.
He said that he will communicate the decisions taken on Thursday to Karnataka Union of Working Journalists State unit president Shivanand Tagadur.
Around 50 journalists have signed the resolution.
Meanwhile, in her response, the Minister issued a statement expressing regret. “I made the statement with a positive bent of mind and not to hurt anyone. I treat journalists as my brothers. They have supported me in my political journey. My only intention was to make journalists focus on development and not just politics,” she said in a release.
