Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 08: Journalists and political leaders in Kerala today came out in strong protest against the Tamil Nadu Assembly's order against six journalists, describing the move as "a big challenge to the freedom of expression and democracy". At a protest meeting at the press club here, state opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said the orders issued by Tamil Nadu Assembly sentencing the journalists to 15 days simple imprisonment and subsequent police action posed a big challenge to the right to know and the freedom of expression. It was all the more deplorable that the action was initiated against a newspaper which had always fought corruption and unceasingly striven to uphold secularism, he said. Former Speaker and Congress MP, V M Sudheeran, said the Tamil Nadu Speaker's orders had no justification whatsoever.
"If legislatures are bestowed with special privileges, they are there to ensure their healthy functioning on the basis of sound precedents, conventions and constitutional principles.
"There is no jusitification for misuse of these privileges for partisan purposes. What is most important is that these privileges are used with propriety," Sudheeran said.

CPI Assistant Secretary Panniayan Raveendran, BJP State General Secretary M S Kumar and senior journalist and former MP K Mohanan also flayed yesterday's developments.
Bureau Report