From rxpgnews.com
MPs disrupt house because of media coverage: speaker
By RxPG News Service,
Nov 25, 2006 - 2:33:22 AM
New Delhi, Nov 24 - MPs are increasingly disrupting parliament proceedings to gain media attention, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said Friday.
According to Chatterjee, some political leaders had told him that they preferred disruptions to chances to take up genuine and popular issues because the media noticed uproars more than debates.
'My earnest request to the media is to consider how, as a very important institution in a parliamentary democracy, it can strengthen our constitutional framework by generating people's faith in the system, inviting their participation in the process to remove the aberration and imperfections that have crept in,' Chatterjee said.
He was addressing a gathering at the release of a commemorative stamp to mark the completion of 125 years of The Tribune newspaper.
The speaker also urged the MPs to be 'ever alert about the criticisms and the growing cynicism among people about the way our institutions of democracy function.'
'It is on MPs that the responsibility for sustaining people's faith in democracy rests. Therefore, the institution collectively and individuals who constitute it will have to function as role models,' Chatterjee urged.
He reminded newspapers what people were interested in was news, 'which should not be coloured by the views of those controlling the newspaper, which can be expressed in editorials or as comments'.
'The media is indeed a powerful factor in bringing about positive changes in society by highlighting neglected issues and by giving voice to the voiceless, the vulnerable, the forgotten and the downtrodden.'
He praised the Tribune for 'shouldering their responsibility with professional concerns and abiding commitment'.
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