Even as the YSR Congress party government has decided to restrict media entry into the assembly premises for the winter session beginning on Monday due to Covid-19 restrictions, the opposition Telugu Desam Party is trying to make it a big issue.
Since Speaker Tammineni Sitaram is the authority to control the media in the assembly premises, the TDP leaders have sought to get permission for the media into the legislative council, where the TDP has majority.
On Friday, a team of TDP legislators met legislative council chairman M A Sharif and requested him to permit all sections of the media into the premises to cover the proceedings.
TDP MLCs P Ashok Babu, Buddha Venkanna and Mantena Satyanarayana Raju asked for the Chairman permission to allow the media organisations and their reporters to enter the Assembly in the coming session.
“It is a violation of Article 15 not to permit the media to cover the House proceedings. The media should not be undermined under any circumstances. It was wrong to permit only the ruling party's own and favourable media into the Assembly while the others were being banned out of political reasons,” they said.
It may be recalled that the main Opposition party has been demanding a level playing field for all sections of the media in the Assembly coverage.
The TDP has been demanding lifting of the ban on some media houses, saying that such undemocratic practices were not in the best interests of the State.