[Letter to S C Rastogi]

Summary

This single-page letter from The Statesman Ltd., dated April 11, 1992, is addressed to S. C. Rastogi, Under Secretary of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Basudev Ray, signing as Printer & Publisher, acknowledges notices of questions of privilege brought by Shri Hannan Mollah and eight other members against the newspaper’s Editor, Printer and Publisher, as well as Minoo Masani, author of the column “As I See It.”

The letter identifies the complaint as concerning a column published in the March 15, 1992 issue, which the complainants alleged cast reflections on members belonging to left parties and their allies in the National Front. The Statesman says it will contact Masani before replying and asks for time to examine the matter fully. The document therefore records an early procedural response to a parliamentary privilege complaint involving newspaper publication and political criticism.

Key points

• The letter is dated April 11, 1992 and is addressed to S. C. Rastogi of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
• The Statesman acknowledges notices of questions of privilege brought by Shri Hannan Mollah and eight other members.
• The complaint concerns the newspaper’s Editor, Printer and Publisher, and Minoo Masani, author of the column “As I See It.”
• The disputed column appeared in the March 15, 1992 issue of the newspaper.
• The complainants alleged that the column cast reflections on members of left parties and their allies in the National Front.
• The newspaper states that it will seek Masani’s response before sending a substantive reply.
• The letter requests time to have the matter examined fully.