Leader of Opposition in AP and TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu in a letter to the Speaker demanded the entry of media into the Assembly and also to restore the media point during the winter sessions of the Assembly which began on Monday. He added that the media is one of the partners in Democracy and banning entry of media was undemocratic. The media plays a key role in passing on information to the public, regarding people’s issues.
Chandrababu Naidu lambasted the ruling YSRCP government for issuing GO 2430 to snatch the rights of media personnel and to take actions for writing anti-government news. The GO was criticized not only by the state but also by the National media in a strong manner. The Press Council of India too found fault with such GO. Not allowing the media into legislative bodies is more dangerous than the previous GO. Only the media can take the behaviours of ruling and opposition parties in the House to the people without any partiality and banning such media is nothing but taking away their rights.
He recalled that in 1998 Telugu Desam government started the live telecast of Assembly proceedings for the first time. During that time the Congress did not have the status of main opposition but the TDP government ensured discussions reached the people. Later, many other states followed this. He urged the Speaker to allow all the media personnel to cover the proceedings. He also demanded that the media point should be allowed during the proceedings.
