Journalists in Jammu and Kashmir temporarily boycott Assembly proceedings over curbs on media

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly proceedings were temporarily disrupted on Tuesday when journalists boycotted proceedings of the House due to curbs on electronic media in the Assembly. [caption id=“attachment_3774409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] PTI reported that Opposition members also staged a protest against the curbs and the House was adjourned for half an hour. According to Greater Kashmir, journalists staged a walk-out from the press gallery of the Assembly after the government barred them from taking mobile phones and cameras inside the Assembly. However, another report in Greater Kashmir — published half an hour after the above — said that the government soon issued an order which lifted this curb and said that journaliss could carry their phones and cameras inside the Assembly. PTI also reported that the media ended the boycott after the Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta intervened and persuaded journalists to return to the proceedings. A special session of the Assembly was held on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Meanwhile, the state police detained several traders after they tried to march towards the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to protest the implementation of GST in the state in its present form. The traders were detained near the gate of the Civil Secretariat complex, which also houses the assembly, after they took out a protest march, police said. With inputs from PTI