Right to know: A case for live telecast of assembly sessions

The Monsoon Session of Parliament is underway in New Delhi. We all know this because television news channels have been playing non-stop footage of scenes from Houses of Parliament during the last few days. We, the people of India, have been able to watch for ourselves the arguments being put forth by the ruling and opposition parties; and regardless of political or ideological affiliation, we are informed of what goes on in the premier democratic institution of the country. However, the same facility is not logically extended with regard to the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly.  

What happens in Fort St George, according to the Government of Tamil Nadu, should stay in Fort St George. This is the subject matter of a PIL filed by Lok Satta Party in the Madras High Court. Contesting the demand to provide live telecast of Assembly proceedings, the State Government has apparently indicated that they did not have sufficient funding. In the latest hearing of this case, the Government has admitted that it would require around Rs 60 crore to operationalise this telecast. From this, we are able to deduce two possibilities here: firstly, that the Government does not have Rs 60 crore to spare and secondly, that the Government think that it is not worth allocating that amount towards telecasting. In my opinion, both options are wholly unjustified and I will demonstrate why. 

In response to the first possibility, we find that the total tax revenue of Tamil Nadu for 2014- 15 was around Rs 85 thousand crore, so that makes the required funding a minuscule 0.07% of the State’s income from its tax-payers – us! As far as the second premise is concerned, we are guided by the citizen’s Right to Know. The Right to Know or the Right of Access to Information is protected in the Constitution of India under Article 19.  

In the landmark case of R.P Ltd v/s Indian Express, the Supreme Court has held that the Right to Know relating to public affairs is a basic right. In another case, Union of India v/s Association for Democratic Reforms, the apex Court has said that ‘people of the country have a right to know everything that is done in a public way by the public functionaries’. There can be no doubt that Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assemblies are public functionaries. Elaborating its reasoning, Court has also emphasized the importance of public education for ‘process of popular government and to assist that discovery of truth and strengthening the capacity of an individual in participating in the decision-making process’. In a nutshell, any functioning democracy is premised upon the citizen’s right to know and participation in governance. 

Furthermore, with the Right to Information Act passed by the Centre in 2005, there is a duty to disclose incumbent on the Government. The only exception is afforded to those issues which pertain to the security or strategic interests of the State. But, even here, the law says that any information which cannot be denied to State Legislature must be provided to the citizen. In that case, every proceeding of Legislative Assembly shall be made public. 

Finally, there is the common sense argument: that every one behaves better when someone is watching. For all the fighting and name-calling which has now become commonplace in our Parliament, think how much worse it would have been if there was no live telecasting. The Government presently provides edited footage to private television channels every evening that the Assembly is held. But, this reinforces the view that the Government is acting like a censor when there is no need to be. Citizens have the right to know everything said and done by their representatives in official capacity. Censorship of Assembly proceedings only strengthens suspicion that the Government is presenting a biased, one-sided view of what transpires. 

Our neighbouring states – Kerala and Andhra Pradesh – have started internet live streaming their Assembly proceedings. This is an inexpensive but limited means to inform citizens about the work done by their representatives. However, there is no escaping that young citizens are politically active and want to be better informed. The Government’s argument in the ongoing case that the matter lies within the ‘exclusive domain of the House and its Speaker’ holds no water. The House belongs to the People and cannot take decisions which are going directly against the interests of its citizens. 

Whatever be the final verdict of the Madras High Court, if the sanctity of our ‘temple of democracy’ is to be preserved the Government must come forward to telecast live proceedings. Anything less, will make the Government look evasive and unaccountable. 

Manuraj Shunmugasundaram

Link to the Article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/right-to-know-a-case-for-live-telecast-of-assembly-sessions/articleshow/48303425.cms