Press Club’s reputation ruined by accepting freebie from a religious charity, says one journo
BENGALURU:
There’s a storm brewing in a ‘thali’ at the Press Club of Bengaluru as the fraternity of scribes finds itself divided over the issue of free lunch for Club members provided by ISKCON. The free lunch ‘facility’ got underway on Wednesday and members were informed about it via sms and WhatsApp messages.
The message, sent by Club president Sadashiv Shenoy and general secretary HV Kiran, reads: “We are delighted to inform you that on our request, ISKCON has agreed to provide free lunch to the members in the Club premises. Lunch will be available from 1 pm on all days, starting today. All are invited (sic).”
This has kicked off a war of words between freebie lovers and others. Among the latter, DP Satish, a senior journalist working with news18.com, commented in a Facebook post: “Press Club of Bangalore has ruined the reputation of a 50-year-old institution by accepting free meals from a religious charity organization.”
‘Enrol scribes in Anna Bhagya’!!
He continued: “Most humiliating. Who wants to be a journalist if a Press Club functions like an orphanage or old age home or an Indira Canteen?” And went on with a touch of sarcasm: “They may soon request the Karnataka government to bring all the members under the Anna Bhagya Scheme.”
“Feeding the poor is not the job of a Press Club…Press Club is not a chathra (ಛತ್ರ). If you have self- respect, please oppose this…Help all economically weaker members by all means. But please don’t insult them like this. No other press club in India has done anything like this,” Satish concluded.
Former Club general secretary Sharan Kumar quickly responded with: “When I was the general secretary of the Press Club, we did not rely on anybody’s patronage. Yet we reshaped the club with income coming from press conferences and diary advertisements. We also introduced welfare measures for workers, including gratuity and other benefits . Unfortunately, the club is not headed in the right way.”
“This (free lunch) is an insult to all journalists and unitedly journalists should oppose it,” said another journalist.
Canteen’s limitations
According to a journalist who wished not to be quoted, the existing canteen has a limited menu and this was probably the reason for the Club office-bearers inviting ISKCON to provide free lunchtime fare.
The existing canteen provides limited items for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks to go with liquor at night.
