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The Bihar Legislative Council on Wednesday passed a breach of privilege motion against the Patna edition of the Hindustan Times for seeking the opinion of its readers on whether the council should be abolished.
The motion was passed by a voice vote.
In his ruling, Presiding Officer Yashodanand Singh directed the publisher and editor of the local edition of the daily not to publish the readers' opinions.
Rashtriya Janata Dal member Bhola Prasad Singh said that the act of the daily amounted to denigrating the prestige of the Upper House.
However, resident editor N R Mohanty, in a front page editorial on Thursday, said that Singh's direction amounts to censorship and is unacceptable.
The daily sought the readers' opinion following RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav's recent plea for abolition of the legislative councils (in the six states where they exist) in view of the grim fiscal scenario nationwide.
"We did nothing to denigrate the House or its members," Mohanty told rediff.com.
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