The privileges in legislative institutions to protect the freedoms of speech and expression in the House and in ensuring that undue influence, pressure or coercion are not brought on the legislature in the course of its functioning were constituted in the good old days when sessions were conducted in the right spirit. But what is the situation now? In Parliament and our Assemblies, crores are spent on unproductive sessions, which defeat the very purpose of those privileges. Under these circumstances, if our legislators had felt that they were being defamed, they could have sought judicial remedy in their individual capacity. This appears to be the era of imposing a heavy punishment for small mistakes in the guise of mis-utilisation of the freedom of expression. The legislature has enormous powers, but these should not be at the expense of the liberty of critics. Criticism must be taken by our representatives in the right spirit, who must try and see whether any of those levelled are right. Constructive criticism is the backbone of any democracy (Editorial – “Whose privilege?” June 26)
T.S.N. Rao,
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Bheemavaram, Andhra Pradesh