Photojournalist (PJ) Club, Nepal has said that its attention has been drawn towards the incident of restrictions to photojournalists and camerapersons of private media houses from covering the swearing-in of governors at President’s residence Sheetal Niwas on Friday.

“It is unfortunate that photo journalists were barred from covering the news of the oath taking ceremony,” a statement of the PJ Club read. “It is a brazen interference in the constitutional rights related to press and expression.”

The statement also noted such incidents have repeatedly occurred in the past at the hands of the office that is seen as the protector of the constitution. PJ Club has denounced the act of stopping journalists from covering news despite repeated requests in the past.

PJ Club has said that barring the media from such a programme of public importance is a sad and deplorable act in a democracy.

In the statement, the PJ Club has instructed all its members to boycott the programmes at President’s residence unless the issue was addressed.

“We hope that all private news media too support our step,” said PJ Club President Bikash Karki in the statement.