7 sting teams in UP capital for big hit before polls: minister

Lucknow, Oct 11 (UNI) A senior minister of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government today claimed that at least seven teams of various private news channels were lurking in the Uttar Pradesh capital to carry out a sting operation ahead of the coming assembly elections.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader and state Parliamentary Affairs minister Md Azam Khan gave this information in the state legislative Assembly.

He said that like in the West, news channels should first take permission from the government before carrying out such operations.

He also asked the Speaker to look into the matter.

Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey assured him that he would take appropriate action after meeting leaders of various parties.

Mr Khan raised the issue after the house passed the interim report of a 11-member committee recommending summoning of CNN-IBN channel head Rajdeep Sardesai for contempt of house.

The assembly has summoned Mr Sardesai to be present in the house on October 27 in connection with a contempt of house for not cooperating with the probe into a sting operation conducted by the channel in February last.

The Speaker announced Sardesai would be summoned in the house on October 27 under police custody, after the house unanimously resolved on contempt against the house for not appearing in person or handing over the original CD to the house committee probing the sting operation involving three sitting MLAs.

In the presence of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, the entire house took strong expection to the channel's role.

The 11-member committee on September 14 presented its interim report recommending summoning the channel head.

On February 15, news channels CNN-IBN and Channel 7 had telecast the sting operation on three MLAs Mahboob Ali (SP), Somaru Ram Saroj (BJP) and Anil Kumar Maurya (BSP), who were purportedly shown indulging in corrupt practises including hawala and drug peddling.

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