Guwahati: The media houses in Manipur have decided to boycott news related to the state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the non-clearance of advertisement Bills.
Manipur Hill Journalists Union (MHJU) and All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) in a joint meeting in Imphal on Saturday decided to stay away from publishing news with effect from Sunday.
According to a joint statement by publishers and journalists’ unions, no news related to BJP and state government will be published “till the pending bills are paid or an understanding has been entered with the parties concerned.”
On April 15, publishers, members of Editors Guild Manipur (EGM), MHJU and AMWJU made an appeal to the Manipur government and the state units of the BJP and the Congress to clear all the pending advertisement bills by 4 pm of April 23.
“However, since there was no response from the government and the BJP, the meeting decided to go ahead with the boycott,” said a joint statement of the EGM, AMWJU and MHJU on Saturday.
“In the case of the Congress, the meeting resolved to give some time following assurance given by its president,” it said.