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Govt must decide on pvt TV ban in House: Bopaiah

But, Eshwarappa wants the Speaker to take a call
Last Updated 15 February 2012, 18:13 IST

Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah on Wednesday said it was for the State government to decide whether or not to follow the Lok Sabha model for television coverage of House proceedings, footages of which are shared with private television channels by the State-owned Doordarshan.

 “Four years ago, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued guidelines on the telecast of the proceedings in the legislature. It is for the government to decide whether they will follow it ,” Bopaiah told reporters in Bangalore. Embarrassed by the porngate episode in the Assembly, the government had dropped hints that it was contemplating a ban on live telecast of the legislature proceedings by private television channels.

Bopaiah said a legislature committee, which went into the details of the State having its own telecasting system to cover the proceedings of the Assembly and the Council, had said that it would cost the State exchequer Rs 25 crore to put the system in place.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting held to condole the death of V S Acharya,  BJP State president K S Eshwarappa put the ball in the Speaker’s court, stating it was for him to take a decision on this issue.

Revision of rules

Replying to queries, Bopaiah said rules and procedures of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, governing among others, the transaction of business and the conduct of members inside the House would be revised once the rules committee constituted for the purpose submits its report.

The issue of members violating rules inside the House has  come to the fore following the porngate episode earlier this month. 

Lakshman Savadi and C C Patil were caught watching sleazy clippings on a mobile phone belonging to Krishna Palemar during the proceedings of the Assembly. Subsequently, the trio had to resign from the State Cabinet.

Bopaiah said the Assembly Secretariat would replace the existing cellphone jammers with a state-of-the-art version to curb the use of mobile phones inside the House.

Reply to notices

The three former ministers involved in the porngate scandal will have to file their replies to the show-cause notices issued by the Speaker on Thursday.

Bopaiah had issued notices asking them to provide their version of the episode by 10:30 am on Monday. 

The trio on Monday had sent a letter to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat seeking extension of the deadline by one week to furnish their replies. But Bopaiah has set them a deadline of February 16. On a local court directing the police to conduct an inquiry into porngate, Bopaiah said any person was free to file a police complaint. 

Bopaiah said his permission was not required for the police to file first information reports against the former ministers.

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(Published 15 February 2012, 18:10 IST)

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