A captive channel for Parliament, and an opportunity for viewers to see those they have voted to power on air, might become reality if Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has his way. While the Speaker said in Kolkata that a plan to have a separate channel for Parliament is under consideration, public service broadcaster Doordarshan says it is possible to put it into practice. ‘‘There are two Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) transmitting the proceedings in a 12-km radius right now. These can be easily hooked to a satellite to start a channel,” said Doordarshan director general Naveen Kumar. Right now, DD charges a fixed nominal fee from channels interested in showing the proceedings live because it has the exclusive rights to the telecast. DD also sells the telecast rights of the Budget speech and the joint address of Parliament. The Speaker had extended the telecast of Parliament from the usual Question Hour to include the Zero Hour. Now, he is mulling over the telecast of the proceedings of several Parliament committees — an idea not favoured by some of his counterparts. Several channels too, said sources, had shown interest in telecasting the Parliament proceedings. While Chatterjee indicated to journalists in Kolkata his willingness to talk to Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy on the matter,DD had submitted a proposal to the Speaker’s office of the expenditure likely to be incurred in starting a channel devoted to Parliament. ‘‘The cost of hiring a transponder would have to be borne by somebody,” sources said. It may be recalled that in August, the Speaker decided for the first time on the telecast of the Zero Hour — when MPs are at their shrillest best. The decision to start a channel will be solely his. ‘‘He has the powers to start a channel if he decides to,” sources said. The Speaker has convened a meeting of various editors and senior journalists in Delhi on November 30 to exchange ideas on how Parliament and the media can work together to serve the interest of people and take Democracy forward.
