Very recently  the Information and Broadcast ministry  has denied accreditation to RSS weekly, Organiser. The reason  Being that  it does not apply in the case of most journals accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

In fact A PIB letter dated 30th April 2012 addressed to the editor Dr R Balashankar makes the government’s arbitrary and biased approach clear. It stated, “In this connection it is mentioned that as per criterio (sic) for issue of identity card as Editor, the newspaper concerned should be in regular publication for a minimum period of 10 years or more and the circulation should not be less than 50,000 copies per publishing day. Since Organiser weekly, English does not bear minimum circulation of 50,000 copies per publishing day, it is regretted that you (sic) are ineligible for the grant of identity card as Editor on behalf of the weekly.”

But according to Dr. R Balashankar For over half a century Organiser was accredited with the central government. The only earlier occasion when Organiser was muzzled was during Emergency, when it was closed down and its editor arrested under MISA. There are not many other publications in the country with the kind of credentials that the Organiser Weekly enjoys. They are the oldest weekly in the country being published uninterrupted for the last 65 years (except during the 18 months of Emergency).

He also added that The Organiser Weekly is among the top 22,000 sites visited globally according to alexa.com website rating agency, based on weekly hits received.

Mr.Balashankar has challenged the government and is ready to fight on this issue.