DD cameras fail to discipline unruly MPs

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">NEW DELHI: Doordarshan cameras that entered Parliament on December 14, 2004, for live coverage of the full day''s proceedings of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, were expected, apart from showing democracy in action, to act as a deterrent against unruly behaviour by the MPs.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">It was assumed that with the fear of being caught on the camera, the MPs would refrain from storming the well, raising slogans or indulging into verbal skirmishes.However, four and a half months down the line, the experiment seems to have failed to have the disciplining effect on the parliamentarians.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Not that the cameras did not have a sobering influence in the beginning. The launch of day-long coverage of proceedings did see act as a restraint. But the MPs soon seem to have got over the ''TV affect''. Boycotts, slogans and hungama continue despite Speaker Somnath Chatterjee''s repeated reminders that the nation is watching them.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">It was the Speaker''s initiative, the brain behind the idea of live coverage of all of Parliament''s proceedings, which was earlier restricted to only question hour, major debates and the presentation of railway and general budgets. It is not just that effect has worn thin. Fear is growing that the experiment may turn out to be counter-productive. BJP leader V K Malhotra, for one, says it''s the cameras that have put a premium on more pro-active approach by the MPs. "Because of live coverage, people are unnecessarily picking up issues which sometimes lead to unruly scenes in order to be seen on TV," Malhotra pointed.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">In the initial days, full live TV coverage did have an effect. The Winter Session, when it was launched, clocked the longest working hours in the Lok Sabha. From December 1-23, 17 sittings - totalling 103 hours and 22 minutes - were logged. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The previous Monsoon Session, which had no live telecast, had 24 sittings, yet it clocked just 92 hours and 29 minutes.</span><br /></div> </div>