Barely an hour into the debate, BSP MP Danish Ali raised objection when the ticker in Sansad TV was showing the achievements of the BJP in the last nine years as the no-confidence motion was being televised live. After a sustained uproar by Opposition MPs, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had it stopped.
After Gaurav Gogoi opened the no-trust debate, the BJP’s first speaker Nishikant Dubey rose to speak, but his speech was interrupted with Ali raising the issue to the chair. He said that the ticker was showing the achievements of the BJP in the last nine years, and it has never happened during any no-confidence motion.
After the objections were raised, the ticker momentarily stopped to restart again. After this happened twice, Birla said that he has sent a message to the Sansad TV team.
However, after the ticker restarted a third time, Birla rose to speak to placate the agitated lawmakers. “As you know, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV has recently been merged to become Sansad TV. You have brought the matter to my notice, I will look into it... I have asked the relevant team… it will be stopped in a few moments,” Birla said. “I don’t have the button to stop the ticker.”
Outside the House, Ali said that this is a departure from democratic practice. “A discussion was underway on the no-confidence motion, but an advertisement about the government’s achievements was being shown on Sansad TV after which we raised our objection to it,” Ali said.
Published 08 August 2023, 18:44 IST