Hyderabad: Asaduddin Owaisi unveils TUWJF Diary 2023, pledges support for Urdu journalists

Hyderabad: AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi released the Telangana Urdu Working Journalists' Federation (TUWJF) Diary-2023 on Monday, promising to address the issues being faced by Urdu journalists. This includes providing double-bedroom housing initiatives.

During the event, TUWJF State President MA Majid, State General Secretary Syed Ghouse Mohiuddin, Federation Advisors, Vice Presidents, and other representatives submitted a memorandum to Owaisi. The memorandum called for the restoration of the Mandal Level Accreditation Card Facility for Urdu journalists, the inclusion of an Urdu journalist in SMAC and DMAC, and the creation of a separate Urdu Journalist Category in media accreditation card committees. The memorandum also requested the relaxation of the 12-page rule for Urdu Major and Medium Newspapers and the reduction of it to eight pages for the sanction of two State Level Accreditation Cards in districts. Other demands included the allocation of housing sites to Urdu working journalists within GHMC limits, the nomination of an Urdu member to the Telangana Media Academy, and the allotment of 2,000 square yards of land to construct Urdu Journalists Bhavan in or around Hyderabad.

In response to these demands, Owaisi acknowledged their concerns and pledged to bring the matters to the government's attention to ensure a speedy resolution. He highlighted Urdu as the second official language of Telangana State and recognised the importance of the Urdu media, which is the largest after Telugu media, in delivering government programmes and schemes to the Urdu-speaking population.

Owaisi also commented on GO 239, which creates a disparity between journalists based on language. He noted that until June 2016, all governments had treated Urdu journalists equally with their Telugu counterparts in various schemes.