FCC of South Asia ruled by a non-journo, supported by a retired-journo
The FCC of South Asia is ruled by a non-journo, allege Club members
Club metes out injustice to an employee who saved & built the Club for 8 years
New Delhi, Dec. 3 (Delhi Crown): The prestigious Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) of South Asia, located at AB-19, Mathura Road, next to Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s official residence, seems to have been reduced to a puppet in the hands of some jokers.
The space was allotted to the Club by none other than Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister, for foreign correspondents working in Delhi.
The aim was to let the journalists from foreign lands to have a space in Delhi where they could sit and understand the nitty-gritties of India’s politics and social structure.
“But, today, very sorry to say, this Club is ruled by a non-journalist Munish Gupta, who can be better described as a fixer. He is the brother-in-law of infamous former Congressman and union cabinet minister Late Matang Sinh who died in jail for his role in Sarada Scam,” said a Foreign Correspondent member at the Club.
He added – “Munish’s sister Manoranjana Sinh was the wife (perhaps the second one) of Matang Sinh and she too was jailed in the Sarada Scam. She is currently out on bail.”
Today, Munish Gupta claims he is an RSS-man for past 40 years. “Though, he and his family swindled money to tune of several crores of Rupees when Matangh Singh was a union cabinet minister,” said the Club member.
Munish owns and runs a web-based PIO TV (https://www.piotv.com/) which is not registered with any Indian or foreign authority(ies). Neither does his venture has any subscribers base. One can get an impression of his venture by visiting the link given.
Today, a poor employee of the FCC of South Asia was thrown out of employment for no fault of his. Behind this unjust move are Munish himself and former Club president S. Venkatnarayan, who claims to be a foreign journalist, said another Club member.
The poor employee named Sanjeev Kumar Verma was handed over a letter of “Removal” by the Club Manager Sanjay Massey, who too has a long history of irregularities and falsehood at the Club.
Massey is officially on-board the Delhi State Minority Commission. He carries PRESS Cards in his wallet, and sports a Press Sticker on his car. He has had a dubious track record as in the past he was removed on “corruption charges” from a restaurant inside the US embassy.
Sanjeev Kumar Verma is the person who burnt midnight oil, worked day-and-night to save this Club, which was once on the verge of closure. When Venkatanarayan had given up on this “loss-making Club”, Sanjeev Kumar Verma prevailed upon him to continue as president of the Club. After a former lady manager was shunted out on corruption charges, Sanjeev Kumar Verma built this Club brick-by-brick, said an employee of the Club.
“And, today he has been unceremoniously removed from the Club,” said the Club employee with tears in his eyes.
The “Removal” letter signed by Manager Sanjay Massey is silent on any charge/allegation against Sanjeev Kumar Verma.
According to an insider at the Club, unlike the Press Club of India (PCI) where there are many who take regular interest in managing it, the character of the FCC is such that none cares about it.
“The Governing Body is comprised of foreign journalists who are often manipulated and misinformed by Munish Gupta. The present Governing Body includes Emily Schmal of New York Times, Ruth Pollard of Bloomberg, Sebastien Farcis of Radio France International, Elizabeth Puranam of Al Jazeera, and others,” he added.
The Club’s insider further stated – “Munish Gupta learnt the traits of befooling others and minting money from the days of Matang Sinh. Today, he has so far succeeded in befooling these innocent foreign journalists who think what he does is all right.”
“When the whole of India was shut during Lockdown due to Covid-19 in March-July 2020, Munish Gupta as the then Secretary of the Club managed to carry out developmental works inside the Club. All the works carried out at the Club were illegal as they were against the rules/by-laws,” said the insider on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, certain FCC members have dragged Munish Gupta to court challenging his installation as FCC president. “Erstwhile president S. Venkatnarayan extended his blind support toMunish Gupta, as a result of which he managed to win the election earlier this year.”
The next date of hearing of the case filed against Gupta being the FCC president at Patiala House Court is in December.
