Srinagar, (Samajweekly) In a coup of sorts, a group of journalists led by a senior local scribe on Saturday took over the management of Kashmir Press Club.
After the re-registration of Kashmir Press Club was officially put in abeyance, a group of local journalists led by senior scribe Saleem Pandit announced that they had taken over as the ‘interim management’ till fresh elections are held.
The group led by Saleem Pandit alleged that in the garb of being journalists, many people with dubious credentials had found shelter in the Kashmir Press Club.
On the other hand, journalists opposing Saleem Pandit’s takeover of the club’s management have alleged that he has been officially facilitated in the undemocratic takeover of the club’s affairs.
The outgoing president, Shuja ul Haq, has since long not been actively participating in running the affairs of the local journalists’ body.
The twist to the tail of the day’s developments regarding the Kashmir Press Club came from a Twitter comment by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said, “There is no government this ‘journalist’ hasn’t sucked up to and no government he hasn’t lied on behalf of. I should know, I’ve seen both sides very closely. Now he’s benefited from a state-sponsored coup.”
