Journalists protest privilege move against cop-bashing reportage

Press associations in Maharashtra yesterday united to condemn the breach of privilege motion passed by both houses of the state legislature against two TV journalists for their coverage of the shocking bash-up of a police officer in the legislative assembly by several MLAs.

The Press Club, Mumbai, the TV Journalists Association (TVJA) and the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh issued a joint statement condemning the privilege notice against Nikhil Wagle, chief editor of IBN Lokmat, and Raju Khandekar, chief editor of ABP Majha - both respected journalists working for Marathi news channels.

In an eye-opening example of the burlesque that passes for democracy in India, Kshitij Thakur, a member from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi party, moved a privilege motion against senior police inspector Sachin Suryavanshi for pulling up the MLA for speeding on the Bandra-Worli sea link road.

The motion received cross-party support, and the police inspector was actually summoned to apologise before the house for doing his duty.

This was only the start - there followed a scene that could have been straight out of Alice in Wonderland if it wasn't so grim. A number of members ganged up on the inspector while he was waiting in the visitors' gallery and mauled him so badly that he had to be hospitalised.

Adding insult to injury, the state legislature has slapped a breach of privilege motion on a pair of newsmen for reporting the contempt in which the people's representatives hold all norms of civilised behaviour.

The Press Club, the TVJA and the Patrakar Sangh in their statement say that the two senior journalists were merely doing their duty in reporting the crime. That the two news channels criticised the legislators for breaking the law and assaulting a police officer in a public display of arrogance, does not amount to breaching the privilege and powers of our legislative institutions.

In fact, the arrest of some of the MLAs involved is ground enough for the legislature to order an inquiry to identify the culprits behind the violence and suspend them from membership of the legislature, the statement says.

There is speculation that the privileges committee of the house is moving to arrest the two journalists.

The Aam Admi Party recently formed by social activist turned politician Arvind Kejriwal held a protest demonstration against the entire episode, including the threat to the journalists, at Azad Maidan on Friday.