NEW DELHI, 6 April — The press and the legislature are on the warpath in Bihar after an English daily published a report carrying reaction of several legislatures on whether, the state legislative council be abolished, as demanded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav.
The Patna edition of the Hindustan Times decided to continue with the phone-in opinion poll on the issue. But the legislative council approved a privilege motion against the newspaper and issued a note to its Resident Editor N.R. Mohanty, restraining him from publishing the survey series any further, saying such an act will be considered as “breach of privilege.”
The matter was raised during zero hour by ruling the RJD member Bhola Prasad Singh, who said the front-page poll announcement was inviting public opinion to denigrate the house.
The publisher and the editor of Hindustan Times were asked to scrap the poll or face another breach of privilege motion. However, the newspaper went ahead and published readers’ response — mostly favoring abolition of the council — on the grounds that it was putting financial strain on a poor state like Bihar.
The privileges committee of the council is expected soon to decide on the future course of action against the daily for defying its directive. In a show of solidarity, the journalist community of the state has come together to condemn the council’s move and questioned its authority in dictating terms to the press. Journalists called the legislative council’s move undemocratic and an attempt to curb media freedom.
Girish Mishra, resident editor of the Hindi daily Hindustan, a sister publication of the Hindustan Times, called it a “mini emergency” and Raghvendra, resident editor of Prabhat Khabar, another Hindi daily, wondered if the matter came under the purview of privilege.
Yet another resident editor, Vinay Pandey of the Patna edition of The Times of India, said in a democracy a debate was a healthy sign. “How can one stop a newspaper from carrying a debate?” he asked.
Mohanty was defiant. “It is shocking. How can the council take upon itself the role of censure. After all, we have done nothing to lower the dignity of the council. We have merely sought public opinion on the subject,” he said.
The entire debate started after Laloo called for council’s abolition. He called it a white elephant on Monday, and said it should be abolished countrywide, thereby saving a lot of money. At present, six states have legislative councils.
