Delhi Assembly may get own TV channel

On lines of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV channels, Delhi too is planning to have its own channel for live telecast of its Vidhan Sabha proceedings. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel has already sought information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley’s permission for the launch of Vidhan Sabha’s own exclusive television channel. Mr Goel has said that the channel would be wholly-owned and operated by the Legislative Assembly on the lines of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV. In a letter to Mr Jaitley, the Speaker said that the General Purposes Committee of the legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has decided that there shall be an independent and exclusive television channel wholly owned and operated by the Vidhan Sabha. He said that the proposed channel’s primary objective would be to bring people closer to the legislature and to create awareness among them by way of direct communication.

The letter said: “I shall be grateful if you could issue necessary instructions to all concerned to facilitate the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi in obtaining all essential licenses/clearances/permissions in this regard. I am confident that you would also waive off any conditionalities that may come in way of the Delhi Assembly launching its own channel, keeping in view the noble cause it is intended to serve.”

The Speaker said that he does not see much of a difficulty in procedures since there was a precedent of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha channels getting all necessary clearances under the Sansad Television Network from all concerned agencies functioning under the Union government. A senior AAP functionary said that the main idea for having a TV channel was to ensure that democratic processes percolate down to the masses. “People should know what their elected representatives are doing in the legislature.”