Putting in the white list few news websites and keeping others excluded after the restoration of 2 G mobile internet services obviously shows discrimination in communication restoration measures in Jammu & Kashmir and lack of coordination and consultation between the central government and the Jammu & Kashmir administration over key security issues. Pick and choose in access to even news websites without any rhyme or reason is bound to evoke resistance, criticism and even condemnation from people of different shades and opinions across the country and as such a discrimination reflected in the white list of the websites deserves immediate attention of the Jammu & Kashmir government. If the news content is a criteria for inclusion of news websites in the list of white listed website issued by the Jammu & Kashmir Government, the exclusion of some of national news websites like Indian Express and India Today in the list of the white listed websites by Jammu & Kashmir government puts a question mark on their credentials over national and security concerns of the government. By all standards of understandabilities exclusion of news websites of national newspapers in the list of white listed websites in Jammu & Kashmir the newly carved out union territory also qualifies them for exclusion from the list of empanelled newspapers of the Central Government’s Bureau of Outreach & Communications (BOC) previously called “Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP). Interestingly the central government’s Bureau of Outreach and Communications (BOC) department previously called “Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP)” has almost three years ago dropped from the empanelled list of newspapers some of the news papers of Jammu & Kashmir the websites of which have been put in the list of white listed websites by Jammu & Kashmir government last week.
So Jammu & Kashmir government putting websites of such news papers in the white list which have been since dropped by central government’s “Bureau of Outreach and Communications (BOC)” previously called “Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP)” shows lack of consultation and coordination between the central government and the Jammu & Kashmir administration over issues of national security matters. So Jammu & Kashmir government owes an explanation for excluding from the list of white listed news websites of national newspapers known for their huge public outreach across the country and including few websites of the local newspapers of Jammu & Kashmir in the white list just on pick and choose basis without any rhyme or reason. This is not just a routine administrative decision but a policy decision concerning net neutrality norms put in place by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in July 2018.
Administrative secretaries to meet people to for redessal of grievances on rotational basis in Jammu, Srinagar