An all party legislators meeting was today convened in the Speaker’s chamber here to discuss and take steps to regulate functioning of small newspapers in the Union Territory. It may be noted that two days back AIADMK Legislator Om Sakthi Sekhar and a social service activist Muruganandam had a clash following which several legislators met Speaker V Sabapathy and urged him to initiate action against those indulging in violence in the pretext of social service organisations and small newspapers collecting money from politicians and industrialists after threatening them. On the basis of this, Mr Sabapathy convened a meeting of all legislators under his presidentship and in the presence of Chief Minsiter N Rangasamy. Ministers Chandragasu and P Rajavelu and Deputy Speaker P T R Selvam besides almost all legislators participated in the meeting. Chief Secretary M Sathyavathi, District Collector Deepak Kumar, and senior police officials, including SSP Sanjay Arora, also participated in the meeting. The legislators discussed various aspects in the meeting and Chief Minister directed the police to initiate action against small newspapers publishing wrong information for personal gain and to monitor their functioning. It was also decided to regulate the issue of advertisements to small newspapers, official sources said.
—UNI