Gandhinagar, February 17 The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday demanded a live broadcast of Gujarat assembly proceedings and displayed placards, prompting the Speaker to criticize the move as a "cheap publicity stunt".
The Speaker also advised the AAP MLAs to learn from the Congress on how the opposition should function.
After the Question Hour ended, AAP MLAs Gopal Italia, Chaitar Vasava, Hemant Khava, and Sudhir Vaghani stood up and displayed placards with the message: "Allow live telecast of assembly proceedings".
Speaker Shankar Chaudhary took a dim view of the gesture, saying it is being done to gain "cheap publicity". He asked the MLAs to maintain decorum.
When AAP legislators argued that the live proceedings of legislative functioning are allowed by several States, the Speaker retorted, saying it's his prerogative to take a final decision.
"You will not get more votes through such an act (raising placards in the House). You are doing this for cheap publicity, and it never helps in getting people's support. You cannot decide what a Speaker should do," said Chaudhary.
He praised the main opposition party, Congress, saying, "You (AAP MLAs) should learn from the Congress how an opposition should function".
As AAP MLAs didn’t budge despite repeated requests, the Speaker ordered sergeants to take the posters away.
"When proceedings of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are telecast live, and even the Supreme Court and High Courts allow live streaming, then why is the Gujarat assembly not allowing it?" Italia asked while speaking to reporters later.
He said several legislative assemblies telecast the House proceedings through social media and other platforms, ensuring transparency in their functioning.
"The assembly and the government function on the taxes of the people and their votes. People have every right to know about the conduct of elected representatives, the questions they are raising, and the nature of discussions on the floor of the House," Italia added.
Italia claimed that AAP legislators had earlier made written and oral representations seeking live telecast of the proceedings.
Notably, the Congress had raised a similar demand during last year's Budget session.