Kerala Assembly speaker MB Rajesh (ANI photo)
Thiruvananthapuram: Snubbing the allegations of the opposition over the screening of developments in the Kerala Legislative Assembly through its OTT platform Sabha TV, speaker MB Rajesh said that the channel is to air the proceedings of the Niyamasabha and not everything that happened inside the hall.
No where such platforms screen protests. If the opposition had presented the adjournment motion, it would have been screened. They were not supposed to bring banners and placards into the hall. Sabha TV did nothing wrong by not filming the protest. They were focused on the proceedings of the Assembly, Rajesh said in a press meet.
The visuals are automatically switched based on whoever has the mic (as permitted by the Speaker). It will also shoot the speaker. That is the norm. If someone is protesting behind the member who has the mic, it will be recorded. That is unavoidable. Media were pressing for visuals from all angles in the hall. That is impossible, he said.
Refuting the charges of a section of media over the 'ban' for journalists inside the Assembly, Rajesh said the security personnels were asked to check the pass of journalists but no one was banned from entering the complex.
The liberal approach of letting journalists in because they were familiar has stopped. Pass issued by the Assembly secretariat has to be shown to the security staff. However, no one was stopped because they did not update the pass. Even those with older passes were let in, he said. He added that the checking will continue in the coming days as well.
The camera crew will be allowed only till the media room. That is not a fresh regulation, he said.
Speaker Rajesh expressed displeasure over the reports suggesting media ban in the Assembly.