Information and Public Relations Department will release CM’s photos in Himachal, new guidelines issued

Shimla, 08 November: The government has issued new orders regarding the photos taken during government programs, departmental meetings and public functions of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The Chief Minister’s photos will be released to the media by the Information and Public Relations Department itself. Apart from this, the Chief Minister’s photos will not be released to the media by any other government department or agency.

The Director of the Information and Public Relations Department has issued a letter in this regard to all the department heads, secretaries, additional chief secretaries and principal secretaries.

It states that it has come to the notice of the state government several times that the Chief Minister’s photos taken during departmental meetings and public functions are being released to the media by the concerned departments without prior permission. In some cases, these photos show inappropriate gestures and this may harm the public image of the Chief Minister. This irregular dissemination of photos can have far-reaching consequences. This may affect the image and perception of the Chief Minister as well as the government.

The letter states that in view of this, it has been decided by the government that no photograph of the Hon’ble Chief Minister taken during departmental meetings, government programs or public functions will be released by any department or government agency without the prior permission of the Director, Information and Public Relations. The photographs released by the Director, Information and Public Relations will be released only to the media.

The letter issued by the Director Information and Public Relations Department states that all the concerned officers and personnel of the department will have to ensure strict compliance of these instructions.