Opposition leader Michael Baptiste is planning to formally approach newly elected House Speaker George Mc Guire to seek fair play in coverage of parliamentary proceedings by the electronic media in Grenada.

Sources close to the opposition leader said that Baptiste is upset with the manner in which some media houses would terminate their broadcast of sittings in the house.

According to a well-placed source, the Opposition Leader is not happy with the manner in which the Voice of Grenada (VOG) pulled the plug on him while he was on his feet addressing parliament.

The radio station stopped coverage of the proceedings after Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and several other members of the government side made their contributions under the agenda of “Ministerial Statements”.

Most of these statements related to activities of the ruling New National Party (NNP) government that is preparing for upcoming elections, expected before June.

The source said that during last Friday’s sitting of parliament instructions were given from the Government Side for the electronic media in the house to end their coverage of the proceedings.

He stated that at the time of the incident Baptiste was responding to charges made by Communication and Works Minister Gregory Bowen that Grenada was no longer a poor country in the eyes of the international community.

The Opposition Leader, a key member of the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), was taking note of the statement in light of government’s own admittance that a survey conducted on the island showed that one-third of the population was living below the poverty line.

Baptiste was also chiding the government for allegedly misleading the international community with figures and prompting the United Nations and other world bodies to overrate the island’s status as a poor nation.

He referred to recent statement made by a senior government minister that there were many families in the country who were going to bed at night in a hungry state.

The source said it was at this stage that certain signals were given from the Government benches for VOG to end their coverage of the parliamentary proceedings.

According to the official,  Baptiste is planning to hold an audience with Mc Guire on the issue and ask him to use his good offices to ensure that both government and opposition are treated equally in the House of Representatives.

“If it is the Speaker who is giving permission for the media to cover

sittings of parliament, then he can also make a ruling for the very said media to cover not only what the government side is saying but also the opposition”, the source quoted Baptiste as saying.

“I think that Mc Guire is a much fairer referee than the previous Speaker (Sir Curtis Strachan) and I expect him to give serious consideration to what I intend to say to him”, Baptiste reportedly added.

The government is said to be maintaining that it is the one paying for the media coverage of parliament and has the right to terminate the proceedings.

In addition, it is arguing that the arrangement made is for the coverage to end at the point where the Speaker announces the adjournment of the house.

The Opposition Leader often uses the adjournment to make his substantial contributions to parliament.