Doors half shut

The second India-United States Strategic and Commercial Dialogue held in New Delhi on Tuesday had a group of Indian journalists up in arms. They complained that American journalists, who had travelled with US Secretary of State John Kerry, were allowed to attend the opening session of the dialogue but Indian journalists, barring news agencies, were made to wait outside the event venue. As barbs about segregation and US journalists being favoured flew thick and fast, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the doors of the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan, the venue of the event, were open for all media wishing to cover the press conference that was held later in the evening.