Hyderabad, July 23 - After several television channels have shown the protests and media briefings of opposition parties in the precincts of the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly, the speaker has banned all live telecast from the complex, other than the house proceedings.

Speaker N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Thursday announced several curbs on media coverage of the assembly, saying they were inevitable to ensure smooth conduct of the house and protect its sanctity.

Reducing the number of media passes -- from 1,033 issued during the last session to 491 this time -- categorisation of the passes, restricting access to lobbies, shifting media point and ban on entry of photographers and videographers inside the house were among the measures he announced at a news conference a day before the budget session of the assembly.

The restrictions have come as there is a growing feeling among ruling party legislators that the electronic media was giving more attention to protests by the opposition legislators after their walk-outs from the house.

Though some legislators wanted a ban on the live telecast of the house proceedings, the speaker turned down the demand saying people had a right to know what their representatives were doing in the assembly.