Access control

After a press conference with a Union minister, the meeting broke up for tea and snacks and some candid conversation. Many journalists present had covered the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as well, so the conversation inevitably turned to a comparison of the past and the current NDA regimes. The journalists' consensus concerned access. One, they said, ministers are not as accessible as they were in the previous regime and, two, the information flow was one-way, from government to press whereas journalists' requests were not entertained. The minister did try to address some of the concerns but quietly listened for the most part.