Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly G. Karthikeyan on Wednesday announced that the proceedings of the House will be webcast from next session onwards.
Presiding over the inauguration of a two-day workshop for media persons organised by the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Karthikeyan said work in this regard was on in full swing.
Pointing out that presently only the Question Hour is being telecast live, the Speaker said the proposed webcast will enable citizens to see all Assembly proceedings live.
Stating that reporting of proceedings in the Assembly was very complex, Mr. Karthikeyan said the media plays a very prominent role and called upon mediapersons to be factual in preparing their reports.
Later inaugurating the workshop, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he favoured the live telecast of Assembly proceedings in the era of RTI and transparency.
Mr. Chandy hoped that the Speaker would soon take a decision after holding consultations with political parties.
The Chief Minister also lauded the Speaker’s decision during the last session not to seek the services of the watch and ward in the House when legislators move to the Well of the Assembly.
Mr. Chandy said media reporting of Assembly proceedings had changed drastically over the years. “There were journalists who were more popular than the legislators due to the excellent coverage”, he added. People still read the reports closely and the media should report with accuracy, while giving prominence to development issues, he said.
K. Muraleedharan, MLA, spoke. Deputy Speaker N. Shaktan welcomed the gathering and Secretary, Legislature Secretariat, P. D. Rajan proposed the vote of thanks.
