Speaker to call meet on panel to rein in media

A joint House committee constituted by Speaker K B Koliwad to rein in the media seems to have gone into cold storage.

The panel hit a hurdle at the initial stage itself with its designated chairman Health Minister Ramesh Kumar stating that he did not want to be part of the panel. Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said that the BJP members will not be a part of the committee. Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy, in his letter to the Speaker, had expressed his reservations on the constitution of the panel.

When contacted, Koliwad said he will soon convene a meeting of floor leaders of the two Houses and also heads of media houses after the bypolls to the Assembly Gundlupet and Nanjangud to decide on the next course of action with regard to the committee.

Koliwad said he had only received a letter with a few suggestions from Ramesh Kumar. “The tone and tenor of the BJP members when they spoke in the House was that they were in favour of constitution of such a panel. A decision to set up the panel was taken by the House. It is now for the House to decide whether the committee should continue or not,” Koliwad added.

Legislature secretariat sources said no formal resignation letters from Kumar or BJP members from the panel have been received.