Media laps up unruly MPs: Speaker

‘‘It has also been observed that on many occasions, serious debate and well-reasoned speeches by members of the House are not given deserving coverage,’’ he said.

He felt that due to ‘‘such lop-sided coverage,’’ members’ attendance goes down during the later part of the day, when serious business is transacted.

‘‘This is because members feel that their speeches during this time do not get adequate space in the media,’’ he felt.

While saying that acts of indiscipline by the MPs erode people’s faith in the institution of Parliament, he added that the press can ‘‘certainly endeavour to strengthen the Parliamentary institutions by giving a positive and balanced coverage of the proceedings.”

The press should refrain from ‘‘sensationalism and pandering to sectional interests and group loyalties…it should not plant stories,’’ Joshi said.

Professing that there should not be an ‘‘adversarial relationship between the press and the government,’’ Joshi said: ‘‘There is an urgent need to shift the attention of the people from parochial matters towards the real issues.”

Commenting on freedom of press, Joshi said, ‘‘Freedom is valuable, only if it has objectivity and responsibility and is aimed at creating awareness amongst the masses of their rights and duties. Without responsibility. freedom degenerates into license.’’

Eminent jurist Fali S Nariman commended the Press on ‘‘the recent exposures in matters concerning some high places in the Higher Judiciary.’’ He said, India had adopted the Anglo-Saxon system of jurisprudence where ‘‘the Judge has been and is God.’’

‘‘The press has brought to light the lack of self-operating mechanisms within the judicial fraternity — the Judiciary should have got to know of these wrong doings before the Press did,’’ he said.