By IANS,
Panaji : The media came in for criticism from Goa Speaker Pratapsing Rane Tuesday after a newspaper carried a bylined article likening assembly proceedings to a “comedy show”.
“The members in this house have complete freedom when it comes to expressing their thoughts. The writer owes an apology or I will have to refer to the committee of privileges. I can even haul him here,” Rane said.
The speaker was referring to a guest article by Samir Kelekar that appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the Herald, a local English daily, that was critical of legislators. “Goan politicians surely have very thick skins.
“For instance, this assembly session has almost been like a comedy show, and one would have laughed heartily if not for the tragic state of Goa,” the article said.
Reacting to the article, Rane said: “Under the guise of independence, you cannot take the licence to write anything. I would like to tell the press and the media to be careful about what you say.”
Earlier, Congress legislator Dayanand Narvekar had asked the speaker to summon the writer to the house for “questioning the assembly”.
On July 22, Rane had also warned the media against misreporting assembly proceedings and had cautioned journalists for behaving like “narad munis”. He had also warned that similar reporting would force him to complain to the Press Council of India.