Nepal

Media barred from covering SAGGC meet

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Kathmandu, May 16 Chair of the State Affairs and excellent Governance Committee of the Home of Representatives Shashi Shrestha nowadays barred mediapersons from covering the panel assembly, incurring the wrath of lawmakers and civil society members. This is the fourth time that panel Chair Shashi Shrestha has barred mediapersons, saying the panel was discussing ‘internal things& related to the Federal Civil Service Bill. At the startning of the panel assembly, Shrestha allowed journalists to enter the assembly corridor, but after a few minutes, she asked them to leave as confidential issues were to be disstubborn. Shrestha had barred mediapersons from covering the panel assembly in December too, saying the panel was discussing confidential things related to Kathmandu-Tarai quick-Track road project, which is being built by Nepali Army. Nepali Congress lawmaker Devendra Raj Kandel, who is also a member of the SAGGC, told THT that civil servants had urged panel members much to allow journalists during panel discussion on the Federal Civil Service Bill and that could be the reason behind Shrestha decision to bar journalists from covering the assembly.

Shrestha, however, said she barred journalists from covering the assembly as the panel was going to discuss internal issues. Nepali Congress lawmaker Amresh Kumar Singh, a member of Shrestha-led panel, told THT that Shrestha decision was against democratic principles. &Democracy thrives on transparency.

Absence of transparency leads to tyranny,& Singh said, adding that in democracy everything should be open and obvious. Ruling Nepal Communist portiony (NCP) lawmaker and SAGGC member Janardan Sharma told THT that panel members were told that mediapersons were much allowed in the assembly as the panel was discussing sensitive subjects.

&But there was no sensitive issue on the agenda,& Sharma said. Prem Suwal of Nepal Peasant and Workers portiony also found no issue that could justify the barring of journalists. The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has never restricted journalists from covering its assemblys in the final 25 years.

Other panels of the Parliament have also much done so in the final 20 years. As per the Parliamentary Regulation, the chairpersons of the panels are as powerful as the Speaker, said parliamentary expert Mukunda Sharma.

&A chair of a committee may justify his/her decision to bar mediapersons from covering the assemblys if those assemblys discuss national security issues, but for all other issues panel assemblys should remain open,& he said. Previous speaker Daman Nath Dhungana said the press should be allowed in committees& assemblys. Journalist Society for Parliamentary Affairs nowadays issued a statement saying its attention was drawn to the panel decision to bar mediapersons from covering the assembly.

&Not allowing journalists to cover the panel assembly was against the constitution,& reads JSPA statement. JSPA warned the panel much to repeat such a mistake.

It also requested the panel and the Parliament Secretariat much to restrict mediapersons from covering parliamentary assemblys. Defending her decision, Shrestha told THT that there was no intention to bar reporters from covering committee assemblys. &Today, we had to discuss internal and managerial issues of the committee.

So, we didn&t allow mediapersons to cover the assembly,& she said.




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Category: Nepal


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