Lift ban on media from recording question hour of Kerala Assembly: LoP to Speaker

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Kerala State Assembly V D Satheesan on Sunday urged Speaker of the House A N Shamseer to withdraw the ban on media from recording proceedings of the legislature during the question hour.

In a letter to the Speaker, Satheesan said that presently the media relies on the Sabha TV for footage of Assembly proceedings and alleged that it has become a channel for the ruling party as it does not air protests by the opposition.

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Restricting the media in the House, which is the sanctum of democracy, especially in Kerala, lowers the prestige of the legislature and sends a wrong message about the freedom of media, senior Congress leader Satheesan contended.

His letter comes a day before the budget session of the Assembly is scheduled to re-commence after a few days' gap.

The LoP said that in the past visual media was allowed to capture footage of the Assembly proceedings during the question hour, but it was banned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the ban has not been lifted even after the Covid threat has subsided, the Congress leader contended.

Satheesan urged the Speaker to order immediate withdrawal of the ban.