Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Monday said the media has a tremendous responsibility not to publicise disruptions in legislative bodies by making them front page headlines.
Delivering the Krishna Kant Memorial Lecture on 'Upholding Parliamentary Democracy' in New Delhi, Chatterjee said the media can help create public opinion against the motivated disruptions of the proceedings of different Houses and elected bodies in the country.
The endeavour should be to carry all sections of "people with us in the task of working a democratic system. The institutions of governance, particularly the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, along with a watchful media, public-spirited civil service, and a vigilant civil society can all be collaborative partners in this national endeavour to uphold parliamentary democracy," he added.
It was not only a matter of great regret, but of dismay and serious concern that on many occasions there are disruptions in the proceedings of the House, which does not take place spontaneously, but because of the deliberate acts of stalling the proceedings by shouting and trooping into the well of the House, with the only intention of not allowing the Houses of Parliament to function, he said.
Though it is easy to put the blame on the presiding officers about their supposed inability to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly, the people should realise that if a group of members is adamant on not allowing the Houses to function, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to regulate the proceedings in a smooth manner, Chatterjee added.
