Devant's media discrimination case begins Friday

Former UNC senator and minister Devant Maharaj, who says he is now a social media journalist, will have his day in court when a judge hears his claim of discrimination on Friday.

High Court judge Justice Kevin Ramcharan has deemed fit for urgent hearing the claim Maharaj filed after he was denied access to the government’s daily covid19 virtual media conferences.

He is accusing Communications Minister Donna Cox of granting access to “other online journalists,” including Rhoda Bharath, Lasana Liburd, and Prior Beharry, and not him. This, he said, amounts to an abuse of power and is unfair and biased.

“As an established and legitimate social media journalist with a large following online, I am entitled to be treated equally and fairly by the Minister of Communications as it relates to the selection of social media journalists to access and cover the virtual media conferences...”

Maharaj also alleged favouritism and bias in favour of Bharath, who he says is a supporter of the government.

In an affidavit filed in defence of the claim, Cox said the Ministry of Health determines who will be invited to the covid19 media briefings and sends out invitations for confirmation of attendance. She said her ministry assists in organising the logistics for the briefings but she was not aware of Maharaj’s D News Network or that he was a journalist.

She said  Bharath  made a request to be added and Cox knew her as a former member of a traditional media house and as an online media voice on social media.

“I did not see any reason why she could not be added to the covid19 media briefings,” Cox said.

She said the Government was committed to respecting the freedom of the press and has never attempted to dictate or restrict any question. She also said there has been no complaint from the Media Association (MATT) that any member of the press has been excluded from participating in the briefings.

Cox said having considered Maharaj’s request, she was unable to see how it was appropriate for him to attend the briefings when he is a politician and the forum was not intended for politicians.

She said on March 15, MATT shared its concerns with her and made recommendations to correct what it saw as flaws in the virtual media briefings.

Cox said the ministry was reviewing the current system and formulating guidelines for media accreditation which will be available for consultation before being finalised. She said it was a work in progress and will replace the current ad-hoc system.

Candice Alcantara, communications manager at the Health Ministry, said the ministry was not involved in determining which media entities were given final access to the link for the briefings. She said Bharath was added on the instruction of the Communications Ministry.

Alcantara said she received an e-mail from Maharaj asking to be added, but  did not respond, since it was her understanding that it would be handled by the Communications Ministry.