New Delhi – The Indian government backtracked Saturday after slapping a48-hour ban on two TV channels for what officials called biased coverage ofNew Delhi riots.
A blackout of Asianet News and MediaOne was ordered on Friday but liftedafter an outcry from opposition groups and protests by the channels to theinformation and broadcasting ministry.
Information minister Prakash Javadekar said Prime Minister Narendra Modirequested the ban be revoked on learning of it.
“Our basic belief is that press freedom is essential in a democraticset-up,” Javadekar told reporters when asked about the move.
A government order had accused the channels of covering last month’s deadlyriots in the capital “in a manner that highlighted the attack on places ofworship and siding towards a particular community”.
At least 50 people were killed in Delhi’s worst sectarian violence indecades, over two-thirds of them from India’s Muslim minority, according tohospital lists.
Mosques were burnt and vandalised along with Hindu-owned shops and at least15 Hindus were killed.
– ‘Undemocratic’ –
MediaOne called the ban “a blatant attack on free and fair reporting” andan “unprecedented and undemocratic action”.
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It also said it was penalised for criticising Delhi police and theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist group close to Modi’sruling right-wing party.
Indian governments have long been sensitive to media coverage andcriticism, analysts say.
In 2016, officials banned NDTV’s Hindi-language channel for 24 hours forbroadcasting details of an attack by militants on an air force base.
The government also banned Qatar-based channel Al Jazeera for five days in2015 for displaying a map of the disputed Kashmir region deemed incorrect.
Last year a journalist was jailed over derogatory comments made on socialmedia against a chief minister from Modi’s party.
The latest ban sparked an outcry from opposition parties.
“All democratic minds should unite to voice against this fascist decision,”Ramesh Chennithala, a senior member of the Congress party, said onFacebook. -APP/AFP
