Guwahati: The Assam Assembly witnessed a walkout by reporters from the Press Reporters' Gallery on the last day of the three-day session over a ruling of the Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai on the authenticity of newspaper reports.
The reporters took strong exception to the ruling of the Speaker, in which, he said, "all newspaper reports are not authentic."
Trouble began when Bharatiya Janata Party member Ranjit Dutta drew the attention of the Government to a newspaper report regarding the death toll due to malaria in the State.
Mr Dutta said while the official death toll in malaria in Sonitpur district was stated to be eight, the newspaper report stated that the GOC of the Army's 4 Corp based at Tezpur had claimed that 85 people had died.
The Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said the newspaper report had no basis and official death toll was eight and not 85.
Mr. Sarma also asked if the member had any proof that the GOC had really made any such statement.
Amid heated exchanges between members of the Treasury and Opposition benches, the Speaker gave a ruling that all newspaper reports are not authentic and ordered that portion of Mr. Dutta's speech referring to the GOC be expunged from the proceedings.
The reporters in the Press Reporter's Gallery, however, took exception to the Speaker's ruling and walked out of the gallery.
AGP member Chandra Mohan Patowary drew the attention of the Speaker about the action of the reporters. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bharat Narah clarified that the ruling party had always considered the Press as the fourth pillar of democracy and had only referred to a particular news item regarding death toll in Sonitpur district and did not say that all newspaper reports are not authentic.
The reporters returned to gallery after the matter was raised by Opposition members.
Later, the Speaker made a written announcement that he did not intend to make any sweeping remarks over the authenticity of all newspapers and expressed regret if his comments had hurt presspersons.
"I have come to know that journalists present in the press gallery have left over a comment made by me. It will not be correct to assume that my comment is applicable in respect of all newspapers and journalists. If my comment has hurt the journalist friends then I regret it," said the Speaker in the House and appealed to the presspersons to return to the gallery.
However, in course of the debate on the Governor's address, the Health Minister admitted that the response of the Government machinery in dealing with the disease was poor.
