Karnataka: Will ask speaker to revoke order on journalists, says Dinesh Gundurao

Bengaluru: With resentment growing across the country and organisations like Editors Guild of India disapproving of the decision of the Legislative Assembly to sentence two editors to a year in prison, the first sane voice in the ruling Congress emerged on Monday with working president, Dinesh Gundurao. speaking up about the need for the lower House to review the harsh decision of the privileges committee.

He told Deccan Chronicle he was personally opposed to such harsh decisions against journalists as there were other avenues for legislators to seek redressal of their grievances. “The privileges committee must not use its power to punish scribes for publishing defamatory articles against a few legislators. The Congress party strongly believes in freedom of the press and the same was underlined by our vice president Rahul Gandhi at a function held here recently. Aggrieved legislators can move the Press Council of India or courts if defamatory articles are published or aired by print or visual media but they should not use the privileges committee to punish journalists".

Recalling the genesis of the current controversy, he said about 20-25 legislators were in the Assembly in September 2014 when Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa announced the decision to refer couple of complaints against editors to the privileges committee. None of the senior ministers or members was present when this was announced.

"I will talk to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and PCC president Dr G Parameshwar to find out whether they could prevail upon Mr Koliwad to revoke the decision in the interest of freedom of the press. Even the Editors' Guild has slammed the state government for slapping an year imprisonment sentence and a fine amount of Rs 10,000 each on two editors for publishing defamatory articles about some legislators. This has happened for the first time in the history of the state Assembly", Gundurao said.