Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs had addressed a Press Conference in Udaipur on 15 September.

It is felt that In his address his responses during the discourse were more on faults and failures of the incombent Congress government in Rajasthan, then on any other things of importance.

There is no need to mention that when a PC is arranged the addressee is subjected to a barrage of questions from his audience. And questions do go beyond the subject and purpose for which the PC is called. Particularly on those issues which currently fall under critical as well as serious categories.

Prolonged unrest going on in Manipur is one such issue and the criticisms which have been directed against the present state and union governments are known to the whole world. Since Thakur is a senior member of the ruling party and also a Minister in the Union Cabinet, journalists would like to hear his views on the subject and those view will come out only in the form of questions on the subject. Also one question may generate a chain of supplementary questions. It is upto the addressee as to how he addresses them.

A senior journalist asked a question on Manipur to counter the minister's observations on the cases of rapes and POCSO, as also the ways his party government would response on those issues if elected to power in the forthcoming state assembly elections. The Minister, while avoiding giving proper answers to many of them went to the extent of calling and comparing the questioner with a spokesperson of the ruling party in Rajasthan.

Journalist asked to resign, later reinstated

Subsequent reports in the media circles on the subject reveal that the marked journalist was asked to resign. However, as a result of his clarifying his objective on the subject, he continues to be in his job. One hopes that the matter closes now.

It is felt that the Union Minister has not played his game with true sportsman spirit. We wish him the best.