‘BJP member earlier during the debate had threatened of banning the channel’
Kerala: India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday suspended the telecast of Malayalam news television channel Mediaone TV citing “security concerns”.
Mediaone TV editor Pramod Raman, in a statement, said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has imposed a broadcasting ban on the channel.
മീഡിയവണിന്റെ സംപ്രേഷണം കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ വീണ്ടും തടഞ്ഞു pic.twitter.com/92XbeRBa1a
— MediaOne TV (@MediaOneTVLive) January 31, 2022
“The ministry has said the ban was due to security reasons, but the channel is yet to get the details on it. The Union Government has not made the details about the ban available to Mediaone TV. We have started legal action against the ban. After completing the process, the channel would be back to the audience. We are suspending the broadcasting temporarily with the hope that justice will prevail at last,’’ said the statement.
This is the second time in recent years that MediaoneTV has been barred from the transmission. In March 2020, the GoI had imposed a ban on the channel for 48 hours on charges of violating provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1998 while reporting on the riots in northeast Delhi.
Recently, one of the BJP members on the channel’s debate had threatened of “banning the channel,” the Maktoob media reported. Activists and lawmakers from Kerala have condemned the action.
Meanwhile, various politicians of Kerala have criticized the GoI’s move. Opposition member VD Satheesan said barring the channel was “akin to interfering with media freedom”.
“Centre’s ban on MediaOne TV is highly reprehensible. This is the second time that the Central Government has imposed a ban on MediaOne TV. Yet another attempt to silence the political dissent through outright fascism. All people of India should unite against this tyranny,” tweeted Member of Parliament ET Mohammed Basheer.
Mediaone TV is one of the leading news channels in Malayalam, based in Calicut, north of Kerala.
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