Speaker restricts electronic media coverage till Question hour

Panaji, July 13 (UNI) Perturbed over the reported biased coverage of the Goa Assembly proceedings, Speaker Francisco Sardinha today ruled that the electronic media should telecast not beyond question hour.

''In the past, inspite of orders of the Chair, the electronic media has telecast all proceedings, without editing the portions which are not permitted. I may bring to the notice of the press and the electronic media that henceforth, such violation will have to be treated as contempt of the House,'' the Speaker made a suo moto statement after question hour today.

BJP Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, however, described the order as ''arbitrary, unilateral, dictatorial and undemocratic,'' as the Speaker did not take either the Opposition or treasury bench leaders into confidence before taking the decision against electronic media.

''The Government has become nervous of the Opposition's criticism of the Government that it had started suppressing the media, leave alone the opposition in the House. The Speaker should have notified the remarks he had expunged, in the notice board of the press room but, preferred stopping the electronic media from telecasting the proceedings beyond the question hour,'' Mr Parrikar told the mediapersons.

Meanwhile, faced with the representatives of the Goa union of journalists and senior media persons, besides those of the Goa Electronic Media Association, the Speaker objected to ''biased and unfair coverage'' of the proceedings by the electronic media that prompted him to take the decision.

''The media coverage should be free, fair and unbiased without giving scope for criticism. It should give balanced representation to both the Opposition and the treasury benches, leave alone adhearing to the norms of contempt,'' he told UNI in his chambers later.

''Sometimes I may be wrong slightly in my decisions, but, I act within my powers to ensure justice to both the sides in the House,'' he said.

He, however, hastened to add that he would take a final decision after exchanging views with the electronic media on Monday.

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