60 MPs want privilege notice in RS against newspaper, magazine; Naidu advises caution

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, however, advised caution. He said “full facts of the case are not before the House” and said the House must be convinced that there is privilege involved before referring the matter to the committee.

Sixty MPs from various parties have given a notice in Rajya Sabha to move a privilege motion against a daily newspaper and a weekly for publishing what they called “false, fabricated and malicious” reports about functioning of the Rajya Sabha television. The issue came to the Upper House on Wednesday, but the government advocated caution.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad urged the Chair to admit the notice. He said Tehelka magazine and DNA newspaper had reported in April that Rs 1,700 crore has been spent on Rajya Sabha TV since 2010, whereas the reality, he claimed, was that only Rs 146 crore has been spent.

“The reports also say that the CAG has criticised it (RS TV) and that Finance Ministry has sent a note to it. Neither is there any CAG report nor has any such note been sent by the Finance Ministry,” Azad said.

He said the reports questioned the relevance of Rajya Sabha TV and argued that it was a matter of privilege as the decision to start the channel was taken by the House. JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav, SP’s Naresh Aggarwal and CPI’s Raja backed Azad and suggested that the matter be referred to the privileges committee.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, however, advised caution. He said “full facts of the case are not before the House” and said the House must be convinced that there is privilege involved before referring the matter to the committee.

“If some comment is made about the utility of the channel, it is fair criticism. Nobody can have objection to that,” he said.

Naidu added: “That much freedom is there to the people, particularly in the media. So, what I suggest is before you take a decision…let us go through the full facts…Otherwise we will be seen…encroaching upon the rights of the media,” he said.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the notice will be examined according to the law. “All aspects would be looked into,” he added.

Source:: Indian Express