Gandhinagar: The second day of the ongoing Budget Session of the Gujarat Assembly witnessed high drama as legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest demanding a live telecast of House proceedings, asserting that public access to legislative functioning is essential for transparency and accountability in a democracy.

AAP MLAs Gopal Italia, Chaitar Vasava, Hemant Khava, and Sudhir Vaghani raised slogans such as “Vidhan Sabha live karo” inside the Assembly premises and pressed for the immediate commencement of live broadcasting of debates and discussions. The protest briefly created a charged atmosphere in the House as members displayed posters reiterating their demand.

Speaking on the issue, Gopal Italia questioned why Gujarat does not provide live coverage when several other states already webcast their Assembly sessions and asked what was being “hidden” from the public.

“Crores of people in Gujarat have paid taxes and cast their votes to form this government. If the public cannot watch live what this government is doing inside the Assembly, then why has the live telecast been stopped? What is happening inside the Assembly that is being hidden?” he said.

Chaitar Vasava echoed the demand, stating that safeguarding democracy, under what he termed an “authoritarian government,” requires openness in legislative proceedings. The AAP maintained that live telecast of the Gujarat Assembly must be initiated without delay.

During the protest, Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary intervened and directed the protesting MLAs to put down their posters and adhere to House rules. He urged members to read the Assembly regulations and maintain decorum.

Several states already provide live telecast

It is noteworthy that several state legislatures, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Manipur, Karnataka, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh, provide live telecast or webcast of Assembly proceedings through dedicated television channels, official portals, or online streaming platforms to promote transparency and public engagement. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly broadcasts portions of its proceedings live, though it does not yet televise the entire day-long session without interruptions, and some other states also follow the same pattern.

Parliamentary proceedings are also telecast live on Sansad TV, as well as on the channel’s official YouTube platform.

Gujarat, however, has not implemented a regular live broadcast system, with past decisions on telecasting remaining subject to the Speaker’s discretion. Notably, the main Opposition party, Congress, had raised a similar demand last year, alleging that the State Government’s Information Department selectively highlights government achievements under the guise of promoting democracy.

2021 PIL opposed by Assembly Secretariat

In 2021, the Gujarat Assembly Secretariat opposed a public interest litigation seeking mandatory live telecast of proceedings and routine online publication of transcripts, questions, debates, and related documents under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

At the time, it argued that compelling such disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act would violate the Assembly’s privileges protected by Article 194(3) of the Constitution, asserting that the legislature has exclusive authority to regulate publication of its records and determine what information should be made public. DeshGujarat