The Legislative Assembly Secretariat has banned the entry of print and electronic media journalists and cameramen to the Legislators’ Home (LH) near the Vidhana Soudha, citing “invasion of privacy” of legislators as the reason.
A few months ago, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat banned the TV cameras in the House for coverage of proceedings, arguing that it was only following the model adopted by Parliament.
According to the notice by the Assembly Secretariat, MLAs who come to Bengaluru for various works spend time in the LH after their work hours. If mediapersons visit the MLAs at the LH, it would amount to invasion of their privacy. If MLAs seek to give an interview to journalists, the Speaker has ordered that an arrangement can be made only outside the gates of the LH.
During the early days of the Congress–JD(S) coalition government, in July 2018, then Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had imposed restrictions on the entry of journalists to the Vidhana Soudha, which were lifted later after widespread criticism from media outlets and then Opposition BJP.
