Centre may request TN Speaker to reverse order

To resolve the constitutional impasse arising out of the Tamil Nadu Assembly's warrants against senior journalists of The Hindu, the central government has decided to intervene and make a formal request to the Speaker to reverse his order

After holding a series of consultation with legal luminaries, the Centre will request Speaker K Kalimuthu through Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad to reverse his order.

The Union law ministry is learnt to have conveyed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani that the options before the Supreme Court are limited because the Speaker's action is not justiciable.

Given the intensity of protest all over the country, the law ministry's move is aimed at sending across a message that the Centre was trying to find a honourable way out.

Terming the decision "unfortunate", Prasad said he would request the Tamil Nadu Speaker to reverse his order for the arrest six senior journalists, including senior editors of The Hindu.

"This is an unfortunate and regrettable," he said here today. "Freedom of the press is an important constitutional guarantee. The press has every right to report and criticise," he said.

The minister said he would "respectfully appeal to the Tamil Nadu Speaker to take back the decision". Prasad said he spoke to N Ram, editor-in-chief of The Hindu, this morning over telephone.

On Friday, the House ordered the arrest on a charge of breach of privilege and "gross contempt" of the House through an editorial in April and awarded them 15 days simple imprisonment.

The Speaker issued arrest warrants against editor N Ravi, executive editor Malini Parthasarthy, publisher S Rangarajan, chief of bureau V Jayant and special correspondent Radha Venkatesan.

Meanwhile, INS chief MP Veerendrakumar said in Chennai the newspaper industry could not be cowed down by threats of arrest and would not bow to pressures before the authorities.

Ending the fast by journalists, organised to condemn the Tamil Nadu Assembly's decision, Veendrakumar said if anybody thought that the freedom of press, freedom of writing and speech could be totally curtailed, they would be mistaken.