Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha Speaker Shri Vasudev Devnani on Wednesday assured the House that the allegations of breach of privacy by cameras by the Opposition are baseless.
Devnani said that the work of the cameras installed in the House is being done as per rules and to protect the dignity of the House. It is an important responsibility of the Speaker to follow the rules, traditions and decorum of the House. Shri Devnani said that he has always tried to run the House by taking the party and the opposition together.
Cameras already installed, upgradation of cameras under NeVA –
Speaker Shri Vasudev Devnani said that the House is a temple of democracy. All MLAs come to this temple. There are rules, regulations and norms. Eight crore people of Rajasthan watch us live every day. Shri Devnani said that he has been experiencing for the last 3-4 days that somewhere the dignity of the House is being undermined. If everyone keeps dignity together, there will be a good message. Referring to the question raised by some members of the Opposition regarding the cameras installed in the House, Shri Devnani said that the cameras have been installed in the new building of the Vidhan Sabha since the inception of the House. Old members will also remember that video recording of proceedings was also done in the Vidhan Sabha building at Sawai Man Singh Town Hall. He said that recently paperless system was adopted under One Nation One Application. Under this, the camera has been upgraded.
There is no audio recording from the cameras, cameras are installed for security.
Shri Devnani said that audio recording is not done by the cameras installed in the House. Under the NeVA project, various equipments installed in the House have been technologically upgraded which is a normal process. He said that electronic devices have a fixed life span. Improved quality of transmission has been made possible by new technological tools. During the term of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly, cameras have also been used as per requirement for coverage of the entire House for the live broadcast started on YouTube.
Why is the Opposition concerned about security?
Mr Devnani wondered why the opposition was facing problems on an important issue like security. Security has been tightened with cameras covering 360 degrees, he said. He said that there is a constant movement of officers, staff and technicians to check the iPads for cleanliness and maintenance of equipment in the House before and after the meetings as well as when the meeting is not held. For security purposes, it is necessary to have cameras in the house. The opposition has to think seriously from the security point of view.
All the galleries including the seats of the House are also in the view of the cameras.
Shri Devnani said that cameras are also helpful for live coverage of various seminars, youth parliaments etc. held under the aegis of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Cameras have already been installed in all galleries, including the Asan, Governor’s Gallery, Officers’ Gallery, along with the place where the members of the party and the opposition are present. The camera is also installed on the side of the Speaker’s chair in the Assembly House. There is no arrangement to capture audio from any camera installed in the House, nor are these cameras focused on a particular member. The said cameras are of three hundred and sixty degree capacity, for which guidelines have been made to operate. These cameras are operated as per the guidelines.
Cameras do not violate a member’s privacy –
Shri Devnani said that no member’s privacy is being breached by the upgradation of cameras. The cameras are placed in the upper part of the room. Cameras have also been installed in the legislatures of other states. There are cameras in the Lok Sabha also and nowadays they also install cameras in their homes. How much is the need of cameras in the campus, this can be felt by all of us in today ‘s situation. In the Lok Sabha too, there have been incidents of some spectators jumping out of the viewing gallery in the past, after which the security there was further increased. We all need to be safe here. If there is transparency here, no one needs to doubt here. There has been no breach of privacy in the House, nor will there be any further breach of privacy.