New Delhi, August 10: The opposition has alleged bias in the coverage of the no-confidence motion debate by Lok Sabha TV. They have pointed out that during the speeches of Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi, the cameras were often turned to the speaker's chair, Om Birla.
Irani spoke for over 50 minutes, but only four of those minutes were shown on Lok Sabha TV. Gandhi spoke for 35 minutes, but only 15 of those minutes were shown. The opposition has alleged that this is a clear attempt to silence their voices and to give undue prominence to the government.
Lok Sabha TV is a government-run channel, and it is supposed to be impartial in its coverage of parliamentary proceedings. However, the opposition has alleged that it has been biased in favor of the government in the past.
In the current no-confidence motion debate, the opposition has accused the government of corruption, mismanagement, and misgovernance. They have also accused the government of trying to stifle dissent.
The government has denied these allegations, and it has accused the opposition of being disruptive and of trying to derail the debate.
The no-confidence motion debate is scheduled to continue on August 11. It remains to be seen whether Lok Sabha TV will continue to give undue prominence to the speaker's chair during the speeches of opposition members.
In a tweet, Mohammed Zubair, a co-founder of Alt News, pointed out that during Irani's speech, the cameras were turned to Birla for 8% of the time, while during Gandhi's speech, they were turned to Birla for 43% of the time.
Zubair said that this is "clear bias" and that it is "an attempt to silence the voices of the opposition."
The government has not yet responded to these allegations.
