THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V D Satheesan has urged for the lifting of the media ban in the Legislative Assembly and a halt to the biased operation of Sabha TV, which appears to favour the ruling party. He submitted this request in a letter to Speaker A N Shamseer.

Despite the relaxation of COVID restrictions, media constraints persist. Such a situation is undemocratic and undermines the essence of parliamentary democracy. It is imperative to disallow the Assembly's functioning to resemble that of a government-owned channel, effectively sidelining opposition protests. During the previous session, media coverage omitted the opposition's protests within the House. Even when the opposition staged a protest at the heart of the assembly, Sabha TV only started recording when the ruling party members stood up in defence.

On June 22, 1994, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha issued guidelines stipulating that the broadcast of House proceedings must authentically represent the occurrences within the House. This includes capturing protests and disruptions. The camera should focus on such instances of noise in the House, and periodically, footage of the presiding officer may also be included. The proceedings of the Kerala Legislative Assembly also adhere to these principles. However, the advent of Sabha TV led to the exclusion of media from the Assembly. Satheesan insists on the Speaker's immediate intervention to rectify the media ban, which exhibits characteristics reminiscent of a fascist approach and to ensure the fair operation of Sabha TV.