KALABURAGI: As of now there is no proposal for a separate channel to cover proceedings in the State Legislature, said speaker of Karnataka Vidhana Soudha Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri here on
Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with Express, Kageri said that the state legislature would not run even 150 days in a year, what should we do with the channel in the remaining days, he questioned.
Reacting on the ban imposed on media from covering proceedings in the Vidhana Sabha, Kageri said that he has not imposed a complete ban. Journalists of print and electronic media are free to attend the Assembly and witness the proceedings, we have prohibited only the cameras of channels. However Doordarshan camera would cover the proceedings and the video footage would be provided to all the
channels free of cost, he clarified. I am a man who is having belief in transparency, he said.
At speakers’ conferences, there have been discussions on upholding the dignity and image of the house. At such forums, suggestions have been made on running the house on the lines of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Already many states have imposed ban on new channel cameras from covering the proceedings, he claimed.
Briefing on having discussions on Indian Constitution for 2 days in the State Assembly for the first time on March 2 and March 3, the speaker of the Assembly said that such discussions would help in bringing awareness about the wishes of the Constitution among the MLAs. Though they have knowledge about the constitution, discussions would refresh their knowledge and would help in taking the message of the constitution to the doorsteps of the common people.
To a question on whether any resource persons would be invited for the discussions, Kageri said that discussions were under progress on inviting the resource persons. To another question on whether the issues of CAA, NPR and NRC would also figure in the discussions, the speaker said that in the meeting of all political parties held by him recently, all the parties have agreed to keep the discussions on the Indian Constitution above the party politics.