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S.P. Velumani asserted that the citizens of India have a "Right to know" the functioning of the State legislature in real-time and participate in all aspects of governance
AIADMK chief whip S.P. Velumani has file a plea before the Madras High Court stating that the authority granted to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to remove specific statements from the session records due to their defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified nature should not serve as grounds for denying live telecast or webcast.
Through an affidavit filed in a writ petition Velumani has sought direction to the Assembly Secretary to broadcast the complete proceedings without any edits.
The chief whip emphasized that the authority to remove specific statements was given to the Speaker solely to prevent their publication in newspapers and journals, rather than excluding them from the official Legislative Assembly records.
Highlighting the advanced state of technology, it is Velumani's suggestion that broadcasting the complete session and subsequently removing the expunged remarks through editing would incur minimal costs.
His argument is that after the live telecast is concluded, the expunged comments can be edited out, ensuring they are not included in the archived records.
It is Velumani's claim that currently, only the responses provided by Ministers during the Question Hour are being broadcast, while the inquiries raised by opposition members are being selectively removed.
“The idea that people should not know that certain remarks made in the legislative proceedings were never the rationale behind the Speaker’s power to expunge those remarks. The same can be evidenced by the fact that several other State legislatures telecast their proceedings live despite their Speakers having the same conundrum surrounding the power of expunging as well,” Velumani’s affidavit stated.
Case Title: SP Velumani v. Secretary of State Assembly of Tamil Nadu
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