New Delhi: Communist Party of India Rajya Sabha MP Sandosh Kumar P. has written to Union home minister Amit Shah, asking him to step in to stop the harassment and detention of journalists in Delhi who are covering the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.As The Wire has reported, over 30 journalists have been detained through the course of October 10 and 11. Some have been dragged and beaten, others have had their phones stolen. These have come despite the Supreme Court saying yesterday that journalists cannot be stopped from doing their work.Kumar’s letter covers key points, like the inordinate pressure on independent journalists or those employed with independent media houses to show their Press Information Bureau accreditation, which is a document that is difficult to secure.His full letter is as follows.Subject: Stop the Harassment and Detention of Journalists in Delhi Covering the Protests Against CEC Gyanesh KumarDear Shri Amit Shah,I am writing to register my strongest protest against the widespread harassment, detention and confinement of journalists covering the protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar across Delhi. Reports from several parts of the capital clearly show that journalists are being prevented from discharging their professional duties through the use of force. A correspondent of The Hindu, one of the oldest newspapers in the country, was confined last evening, correspondents of The Indian Express were prevented from reporting, and a correspondent of the PTI, a news agency formed in 1947, was detained. Journalists and camera personnel from the Malayalam press, like AsiaNet, Manorama, Reporter TV, Mathrubhumi, News 24 Malayalam etc. have also faced restrictions despite raising their grievances with the police. Same is the treatment with prominent Hindi journalists on YouTube like Ajit Anjum and Shyam Meera Singh, who was detained last evening. A female correspondent from the news portal PeekTv was brutally dragged and detained. The list of atrocities is endless. A video showing several detained journalists displaying their identity cards from inside a police detention bus represents the state of press freedom in the national capital. When journalists are detained for reporting, the public’s right to know is being deliberately obstructed.The repeated police insistence that journalists must possess PIB accreditation to cover the protests is absurd and untenable. The existing accreditation guidelines have failed to keep pace with the changing media landscape. Requirements of 15–20 years of experience cannot accommodate the emergence of credible digital news organisations such as The Wire, The Quint and Scroll, while independent journalists, digital media platforms and YouTube, Facebook and Instagram-based news channels also perform legitimate journalistic work without PIB accreditation. Citizens, too, increasingly document and share events through mobile technology. PIB accreditation cannot be treated as a prerequisite for journalism or as a licence to report from public spaces. Such arbitrary restrictions undermine press freedom and the public’s right to information, which is integral to democratic accountability. The Supreme Court’s intervention on this issue yesterday and concerns raised at the United Nations further underscore the urgency of ending these practices.Such high-handedness has no place in a democracy. By obstructing independent reporting, the authorities only reinforce the public perception that the government is attempting to conceal police excesses against peaceful protesters. I demand that you immediately issue clear instructions to the Delhi Police to stop the harassment, arbitrary detention and obstruction of journalists, ensure their access to areas where they are lawfully discharging their duties, and prohibit discrimination solely on the grounds of lacking PIB accreditation. All instances of unlawful confinement, intimidation and assault must be investigated and accountability fixed. The government cannot claim to uphold democracy while using the police to prevent journalists from informing the people. I urge your immediate intervention in the larger interest of democracy and constitutional freedoms.