By IANS,
Chandigarh : The media was kept at bay when Home Minister P. Chidambaram visited here Wednesday, a day after a shoe lobbed by a journalist upset over the Congress’ stance on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots narrowly missed him.
The home minister, here to review security arrangements for the parliamentary elections, held separate meetings with officials of the Haryana government and the Chandigarh administration.
And security personnel made sure journalists didn’t get close.
Though the minister was not supposed to have any formal interaction with reporters, the media was kept away from interacting informally too.
Chidambaram, who arrived here early Wednesday in a special Border Security Force (BSF) jet, later flew back to New Delhi.
Journalist Jarnail Singh of the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran had hurled a show towards the minister during a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi Tuesday.
The journalist was upset over the minister trying to evade questions on the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, especially the clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The journalist was taken away from the press conference by security officials and was released a few hours later after the home minister and the Congress party did not press charges.
Chidambaram later said that he had forgiven the journalist. The journalist said after his release that his action was wrong but the issue was right.