Told to take off black socks, scribes boycott Sukhbir’s function
Tuesday, 17/11/2015
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BARNALA: High drama was witnessed when mediapersons boycotted a function of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here after they were asked to take off their socks, if these were black in colour, before entering the venue of the function.
Inadequate sitting arrangement for scribes also angered them. Sukhbir was here on Monday to address a meeting of district-level workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) at Gurdwara Bibi Pardhan Kaur.
It was an embarrassment for the organisers as the incident took place on National Press Day.
Police apprehended that socks, turbans or any piece of cloth that is black in colour could be used symbolically as a black flag to show resentment at the function. The police personnel said they were just following the orders of their higher authorities.
Despite attempts to placate journalists by making announcements from the stage, angry journalists voiced their displeasure and left the premises.
However, no SAD leader, except Darbara Singh Guru, tried to pacify the journalists. Guru followed the scribes as they went to the nearby office of another SAD leader Bhola Singh Virk. The scribes, however, did not relent and refused to attend the press conference of Sukhbir.
SAD district president (urban) Sanjeev Shorey and district president (rural) Paramjit Singh Khalsa did not come forward to persuade the journalists. Later on, with the persistent efforts of Guru and senior superintendent of police Opinderjit Singh Ghuman, they came back to the function after the deputy CM had already started his speech.
Guru said, “If there is any lapse in the arrangements, we are sorry for it. I made sincere efforts and ultimately succeeded in pacifying the journalists."
"We had not issued any instructions to stop the entry of the people wearing black socks. But, we generally discourage loose pieces of black clothes inside the venue of functions," said SSP Ghuman.
