Opposition boycotted the last day of the Assembly on Thursday. Vishal Srivastav
THE ASSEMBLY on Thursday passed a resolution that no action should be taken against private broadcaster TV Today Network over airing a sting on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
In 2016, an inquiry committee — headed by SP MLA Satish Nigam — set up by the state Assembly had submitted a report holding staff members of TV Today Network guilty of breach of privilege of then parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan. He is now the SP MLA from Rampur.
On Thursday, a resolution about not taking any action against the network was moved by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna and was passed even as the Opposition remained absent.
Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit said that while the Assembly had summoned staff of the network on February 23, 2016, the Supreme Court had put a stay on further proceedings in the House on March 4. The court order had come on a plea filed by the journalists, who had challenged the committee’s order that held the network guilty of breach of privilege, as it failed to provide the original raw footage and camera used in the sting operation. The next hearing in the SC has been scheduled for August 1.
The Speaker said the government will have to inform the SC about the decision of the Assembly.
Khanna told the House that BJP, which was in Opposition then, had raised question on the very formation of the committee as well as its report and had even staged a boycott on the issue in the Assembly then.
“First of all, prima facie, it does not appear to be a case of breach of privilege… I had raised the question on the formation of the committee then also. We had also staged a walkout in disagreement. Media is the fourth pillar of the democracy. I place the resolution that there should be no further action in this case,” he added.
Following this, the Speaker tabled the resolution. “Aaj Tak aur Headlines Today ke sting operation ki satyata ki jaanch ke liye banayi committee mein aage koi karyawahi na ki jaye (In the case of the committee formed to find the truth in the Muzaffarnagar sting operation done by Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, there should not be any further action),” he read out the resolution. With Opposition members not present, the resolution was passed unanimously.
House congratulates Nitish Kumar
The Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution congratulating Nitish Kumar on again becoming the chief minister of Bihar. While tabling the resolution to congratulate Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Sushil Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said: “For the change in the neighbouring state of Bihar, I propose to congratulate Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Sushil Modi. We hope that the kind of sushashan (good governance), which public of Bihar was expecting, they would get it now.” The resolution was unanimously passed.
The House passed another resolution congratulating the Indian women cricket team for its performance in the World Cup, where in reached the final. Adityanath also announced that players from Uttar Pradesh in the women cricket team would be awarded by the state.
