Amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) across Assam, the BJP government has barred entry of journalists from the State into Assam House premises in New Delhi.
On Monday, when the media persons working with Assam-based media houses had gone to Assam House to cover a press conference, security refused to allow them to enter citing government order.
The press conference was convened by Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma, chairman of the high-level committee for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
An embarrassed Sharma later had to walk out of the Assam Bhawan premises to interact with the media on the road.
Delhi-based journalists from the state feel their entry has been banned apparently because the media houses in Assam have taken a stand against the CAA.
Assam Bhawan officials, when contacted, said the orders came from Principal Resident Commissioner and accordingly, the Assam Police battalion was instructed to bar entry of media persons into the premises of the State guest house.
They claimed that it was done on the basis of orders from the Assam government.
On Sunday, a similar incident took place when former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was prevented from holding a media interaction, forcing him to call off the event at the eleventh hour.
The North East Media Forum has condemned the action of the Assam Bhawan authorities and questioned how they could ban entry into a public guest house.