There has recently been quite a bit of commotion during house sessions in India, and the Tamil Nadu Assembly has taken steps to alleviate the problem.
Following recent cellular related scandals – one in which ministers in Karnataka were caught watching porn on their cellular device, and another recent incident when a DMK member was banned from the house for ten days for using his phone to record assembly proceedings – the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker D Jayakumar announced that a consensus has been reached to ban members from bringing cell phones into house sessions.
According to The Times of India, the speaker explained that members will be allowed to store their phones in personal lockers while a hearing is going on in the assembly hall. In today’s connection-dependent world, it is not surprising that the decision to ban cell phones is being greeted with much vitriol by the legislators, particularly those who use the devices for informative purposes during assembly meetings.
“Getting up-to-date information is crucial these days. To ban mobile phones without even a discussion in the House is unfortunate”, said DMK leader TR Baalu’s son TRB Rajaa. “If the new rule comes into effect, how can members make calls in case of emergencies?” asked another DMDK legislator, C H Sekhar.
So far, Tamil Nadu is the only state seeking to enforce the new rule in its legislature, although with all the trouble within Indian Legislatures recently, it would not be surprising if others soon follow.