The Kerala legislative assembly on Monday launched a TV channel of its own to take the proceedings of the assembly to the people. Named Sabha TV, the channel along the lines of Rajya Sabha TV and Lok Sabha TV, was formally inaugurated on the first day of the Malayalam Year on Monday by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla through video-conferencing.
According to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the first phase, the Sabha TV will be aired through different channels. It will be started as a full fledged channel later, he said.
Also unveiled on the occasion was the official website of the Legislative Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. The website was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Assembly Speaker said Sabha TV aims at creating awareness among the general public about the history of the House, discussions on Bills cleared by it and many more.
He also said the channel would initiate debates on several issues and be telecast after purchasing time-slots on various channels.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that this was a prestigious moment for the state. “It is the first time that a state assembly in the country is starting its own channel. It is important to deliver the proceedings of the democratic houses to the people at a place where the rule of democracy sustains. This will help in making the functioning of the legislature more transparent,” said CM Pinarayi in his Facebook post.
The mainstream media has had a big role in this and Sabha TV will be an addition to that, CM said. People have the right to know what the representatives they elected to the assembly are doing. Earlier, it was only through visitors gallery people could see what was going on in the assembly, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)