Tamil Nadu CM Stalin approves standing demand for live broadcast of Assembly sessions

Four months into forming the government in Tamil Nadu, the MK Stalin-led DMK has decided to act on its poll promise of televising the live assembly session. Acting on its poll promise, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday, September 9 announced that the proceedings of the state assembly will be telecasted live as soon as the session begins. 

The telecast could be seen on TV by the public, live from the Fort St. George campus. This comes as a step forward, as the people in the state have been demanding live telecasting for a long time. Tamil Nadu was the only state in south India, which did not telecast the live proceedings from the parliament. 

CM Stalin government approves live broadcast of the assembly session 

State politics will take a new turn in Tamil Nadu after the onset of the live broadcasts. The step will further enhance transparency among people and their representatives. 
As the proceedings of the house will be presented live, voters of the state will be empowered to monitor the debates, which will further enhance the quality of discussion in the assembly, and also push the MLAs to participate enthusiastically. 

Despite being a poll promise and a top priority on the DMK’s manifesto, the government has acted on it after four months in power. The Stalin government only broadcasted Governor’s speech and Finance Minister’s state budget announcement live for public view till now and none of the regular assembly sessions. 

Opposition parties in the state have hailed the decision and also made an accusation that the regional political parties-- AIADMK & DMK have been hesitant to broadcast the live sessions, as they used to control the political narrative of the developments of the house. 

Speaking to the media about this, Congress MLA Peter Alphonse highlighted that the premise behind such a request is that government is based on transparency, and also that the legislative Assembly is the conduit through which power travels, and hence the proceedings and the decisions made for people should be made publicly available. A telecast, according to the Congress leader, will improve the level of debate, increase member involvement, and so increase the Assembly's productivity.

Image: PTI