Pramesh Jain
Journalists from various Kannada news channels and national media staged a silent protest in Bengaluru on Thursday against the Karnataka assembly Speaker,Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri‘s decision to impose media restrictions within the assembly proceedings.
Editors and Senior Journalists,from various different regional news channels and national media representatives on Friday October 11th staged a silent protest after the karnataka assembly Speaker called for a ban on live telecast from the Assembly House.
A photo journalist wore a black eye band condemning Karnataka Speaker’s order against media.
News channels have been broadcasting proceedings of the Karnataka Assembly and the Vidhana Parishad since 1994.
Though the journalists approached the Speaker to lift the ban,Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri stood his ground,reiterating that restrictions were imposed as per rules.
Journalists were miffed after Kageri left the chamber without listening to their grievances.
Reacting to this,Press Club of Bengaluru with other media houses and journalists called for a protest at Bengaluru’s Anand Rao Circle.
More than 100 Video and Photo journalists with represntatives from Regional and National Channel took part in the silent protest at Maurya Circle against the Media Gag order by Karnataka Assembly speaker for the ongoing session of 3 days he banned which miffed the representative of all private channels.
The protest was organised by Press Club of Bengaluru President,Sadashiva Shenoy,with H.V Kiran and Anand P. Baidanamane.
Security was placed at the protest spot DCP,Central,Chethan Singh Rathore with ACP,T Basheer Ahmed with PI,Sanjeev Gowda with other officers and staff were present at the Maurya Circle.
Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy joined the protest and slammed the speaker’s move banning private channels live telecasting the Assembly Session,he said no one should restrict the fourth pillar of democracy in covering the live telecast of Assembly session as they are the who passes the ongoing sessions developments to public and said today he will raise the issue in the house of the Assembly demanding Speaker should immediately lift the ban and allow private channel to cover the live assembly session he added.He even slammed the current BS Yediyurappa-led government over the ban, which disallows national and regional private TV channels from covering the proceedings of Karnataka Assembly live.They are trying to gag the media and the fourth pillar of democracy is being stopped in its work.I condemn this and reject such a move by the speaker, he said after meeting the journalists who are staging a protest against the gag.HDK even said that there had been a proposal from the state Home ministry during his time in office.He had,however refused the proposal.The media must not stop us while are walking the corridors of Vidhana Soudha,but we must make facilities instead for them to ask questions,he told reporters.
Siddaramaiah Former Chief Minister,leader of opposition condemned the move of BJP government and Speaker by tweeting he said,The decision of the Speaker, to disallow journalists from taking the video & photographs of the session, shall be condemned.In case speaker feels that journalists are misusing the liberty, the rules of the house should be modified and not bring in a complete ban.Is blocking journalists an attempt to protect @BJP4Karnataka’s blue boys from being caught again?In that case, is it not the party’s duty to teach blue boys a lesson?But, in @BJP4Karnataka, they reward such anti-social elements with ministerial berth, even if they lose.Wah!The latest media blockade by speaker seems to be in the direction to mute the opinions of Opposition.Live relay of Assembly by @DDChandanaNews was partial towards ruling party members. Most of the times, when opposition speaks, the camera is not focused on the one who speaks he tweeted.
Sowmya Reddy R Jayanagar MLA tweeted, against the Media ban by Assembly speaker she said,What’s the responsibility of a healthy opposition ? Isn’t that our job to speak up for the people of our state! To ensure we ensure the government is doing its job properly! If our voices inside the assembly can’t be heard outside to people then isn’t this death of democracy!!!As a 1st time MLA I want to talk and discuss about pressing issues regarding the our city, my constituency (Jayanagar) many issues & including the worst hit floods & how Karnataka government has handled past 60 days. shocked with the events that have unfolded past 2 days.Outside tv media has been banned since today at the assembly! Today when we (opposition) spoke against Govt’s failure to handle flood relief, there was no focus on us but guess who? Yes, only the speaker or the CM or anyone from the ruling party. That’s why the media gag! She tweeted.
BS Yediyurappa tweeted from his official twitter account on Thursday had said that he would appeal Karnataka Assembly speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri to recall the ban, which was issued ahead of the three-day winter session of the Assembly he tweeted after few hours the tweet was deleted Sources with the BJP told reporters,that the tweet was deleted because Yediyurappa’s statement could have given the media the impression of infighting within the BJP.His statement was against party dictates so the tweet was taken down,” the source added.
Deepa Balakrishnan,Senior Journalist of CNN News18,tweeted, Press Club of Bangalore is leading a protest today against #Karnataka #Speaker #Kageri ‘s unilateral order to keep Pvt channel video- and photo-graphers away from covering Assembly proceedings; top editors and journos are here this morning at the Gandhi statue.Today @Vijaykarnataka has a black, blank space spanning two columns where ‘pictures’ of the #Assembly session should have been.. protesting the unilateral ban on photography and videography inside Assembly #mediagagged #freedomofpress,And a photographer Pandarinath @XpressBengaluru sits blind-folded in the backdrop of the Gandhi statue to protest the ban of videographers and photographers from #Karnataka #Assembly coverage she tweeted.
HR Ranganath Public TV Managing Editor said,We cannot be fools to believe that the decision will be reversed because of the opposition against it.The question is not about whether the Chief Minister or the Speaker has taken the decision.We need to understand about where this idea that the Vidhana Soudha and the Assembly is a place where politicians can take unilateral decisions is coming from,He even said that politicians are eager to ensure that the news that portrays them or their party in good light should only be published. “This eagerness is increasing every day and politicians want to present a packaged news bulletin to journalists. This must be resisted not only today but also going HR Ranganath, Managing Editor of Public TV, a Kannada news channel, said at the protest.
Hariprakash Konemane, Editor of Vijay Karnataka,a Kannada language daily newspaper, stated that this decision will be used as a precedent to take unilateral decisions. “In the first stage, TV cameras are banned from Assembly. This will be used as a precedent in the future. We have taken a stand against this in today’s edition of Vijay Karnataka in which we have published a blank picture instead of a photograph on our story on this issue,”he said.
Ranganath Bharadwaj,Chief Producer of TV9 Kannada,said,Those who are afraid of us and have something to hide take such steps we tell the world what you do during assembly session.Who eats tobacco,who lazes around and who uses their phone that’s why you are afraid of us the government is not doing the media a favor by letting us inside Vidhana Soudha it’s our duty to tell the people what their representatives are doing he added.
Another senior journalist said,This is something that people and the government need to pay attention to the media also has to instil some fear into the government the real issues are highlighted he added.
HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular) National President: This kind of attitude of the present govt shows that it is intentionally snatching the freedom of media going on for decades. We hope & trust that this govt will reconsider its decision he added.
Senior Journalist,Ms.Shantala said,They are trying to suppress the Freedom of press it is against the interests of the people she said.
It is alleged that Several opposition leaders were also in agreement with the proposal, sources claimed.Informally, several JD(S) leaders,especially HD Kumaraswamy had supported this.When leaders are sleeping or doing something else, that gets captured.A few Congress leaders too wanted the ban to be imposed,” the source added.
In 2012, a camera man of Private channel had captured footage of the then Karnataka MLA Laxman Sangappa Savadi watching porn on his phone inside the Assembly. Following the uproar, Laxman Savadi was forced to resign. In February 2012, the then Speaker, KG Bopaiah had banned private television channels from recording and broadcasting live proceedings of the House until a committee set up to probe Savadi’s behaviour submitted its report. The ban was later lifted.
In 2014, after the Congress came to power, the then Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa had told the media that the government was mulling a proposal to ban television cameras from broadcasting live the Assembly proceedings. However, this proposal had then fallen through.
