NDTV India row: Political tussle over one day ban begins

Chennai: Asserting that the BJP and the NDA Government have the highest regard for media and the freedom of media and will never allow any infringement of it, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today termed as 'ill informed and politically inspired', the criticisms for ordering NDTV India to go off air for a day for violating live coverage norms. Addressing a press conference here, he said the belated criticism of the action proposed to be taken against NDTV India for violating the norms of live coverage of anti-terrorist operations by the security personnel in Pathankot in January this year was clearly ill informed and politically inspired.

''Such reactions that came a day after the Government’s decision was in the public domain on November 3, 2016 was clearly an afterthought, suggesting a motivated design to create a controversy where none existed'', he added. Mr Naidu said the Government was deeply committed to uphold the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country, particularly, in the context of cross border terrorism. Keeping this in mind, it had issued a Gazette Notification in March this year requiring TV channels to limit live coverage of anti-terrorist operations to the briefings of designated officers, in the larger security interests involved. ''NDTV India, in this case has been found to have violated this provision and was found to be unrepentant about what they have done'', he said.

The channel was also found to have resorted to similar violations earlier, Mr Naidu said, adding, this decision, accordingly, was only a culmination of the larger security concerns being expressed since 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) that recommended action against the channel did so after duly acknowledging the instant reach and power of television, unlike other media and only recommended suspension of telecast just for one day as a token, so that the channel could not get away completely for being even unrepentant in the matter. (UNI)

Ban order on NDTV India reveals Modi Govt's authoritarian attitude: CPI(M)


The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today attacked the central government order banning Hindi news channel NDTV India from going on air for a day on November 9, describing it as revealing ''the increasingly authoritarian attitude of the Modi Government''. ''This is a brazen attack on media freedom and an attempt to gag freedom of expression,'' the party politburo said in a statement here. The private news channel has been told to go off air on November 9 as penalty for its coverage of the terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in January, a charge refuted by NDTV India. The Left party demanded immediate withdrawal of the ban order and an assurance from the government that such arbitrary actions would not be undertaken in future. (UNI)

Ban on NDTV India reminisces dark days of emergency: Karuna, Vaiko



Leaders of various political parties, including DMK President M Karunanidhi and MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, today slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for asking NDTV India to go off air for a day for its coverage on Pathankot anti-terrorist operations and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direct intervention to protect the media freedom. In a statement here, Mr Karunanidhi said the ban on the TV channel was really reminiscent of the dark days of the emergency.

Stating that leaders of various parties and media organisations have condemned the ban as termed it as an affront on the freedom of the media, he said a newspaper has come out with an editorial stating that the ban was an ominous curb on media freedom. He said the I and B Ministry could have either approached the News Broadcasting Standards Authority, which was headed by a Supreme Court judge, or formed an independent panel to adjudicate the issue.

He also said that a committee of officials was not the ideal body to make an independent assessment and recommend the ban. Mr Karunanidhi said this was reminiscent of the ban imposed on his articles written in Party organ Murasoli during emergency. (UNI)