STAFF REPORTER
Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar has said that the ban on the two TV channels from Kerala has been lifted and the matter will be further probed by the authorities concerned.
He was speaking to reporters in Pune today after attending the video conference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Jan Aushadhi Diwas. Javadekar said the government always supports freedom of the press.
The Ministry had yesterday put a ban of 48 hours on both Asianet News and Media One for their coverage of violence in North East Delhi which was stated to be in contravention to the Cable Television Network Rules.
The decision has been taken by the ministry after thorough deliberation on the representation made by the board members of both the Malayalam news channels.
Freedom of the press is one of the basic tenets of our democracy. People will not tolerate the ban on a channel without any specific issue. The reporter Hasannul Banna was reporting what he saw.” Banna, a journalist who was named in the ministry’s order, said he had only told the channel what he saw and was not reporting for Media One. “I narrated what I saw when the channel called me. Someone was firing at the crowd from the top of a building on Jan. 24,” Banna said. “I didn’t say who fired because I don’t know. But this kind of a reaction by the government is very unfortunate,” he added. MediaOne channel issued a statement on the order. “This is a blatant attack against free and fair reporting. The ministry order mentioned that our reporting has violated cable TV Act. This is something but an order to stop free and fair journalism. MediaOne will fight legally against this unprecedented and undemocratic action imposed by I&B Ministry,” signed CL Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of MediaOne TV. The news of ban against these 2 channels saw a stream of criticism by politicians of all hues except BJP. Several people got out on the streets to protest late on Friday night. Leaders of both CPI(M) and Congress slammed the move by BJP govt.“How on earth can Malayalam channels inflame communal passions in Delhi? Whereas the truly vicious propaganda channels like Ré-pubic & TimesCow continue their brazen distortions w/impunity,” stated Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP. Supporting him, Congress MP P Chidambaram stated, “The Ministry of I&B plays the roles of Prosecutor, Jury and Judge. This is a travesty of justice. All media entities should protest vehemently. The govt must scrap the shutdown order forthwith.