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Parl answerable for banning Tripura CM's speech: Dy. Assembly Speaker
August 16, 2017
With Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar alleging that Doordarshan and
the All India Radio refused to broadcast his Independence Day address,
state Deputy Assembly Speaker Pabitra Kar questioned the federalism
structure of the country.
"If the chief minister says anything,
it cannot be censored. It should be answerable to the Parliament and
Assembly. We oppose it. If this kind of things can be done, then how
India can be a federal state?" Kar told ANI.
The Chief Minister
on Tuesday alleged that Doordarshan and All India Radio refused to
broadcast his customary Independence Day speech and asked him to rewrite
and rerecord it.
The public broadcasters did not air Sarkar's speech which was scheduled to be aired at 6.30 am on Tuesday.
As
per the media reports, the Chief Minister's Office was informed via a
letter that his speech would not be broadcast unless he "reshaped it".
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) strongly condemned the move and also released an official statement.
"This
is a gross infringement on the right of a Chief Minister to address the
people of his state on Independence Day. This act is a reminiscent of
the Emergency days and goes beyond as it seeks to gag the elected Chief
Minister of a state. The Central Government is trampling upon the
autonomy of Doordarshan/AIR and Prasar Bharati by such acts of
censorship," the statement read.
The CPM also demanded an action
against "those responsible for prohibiting the broadcast," adding, "the
Modi Government should stop treating the Prasar Bharati as a department
of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."
The party also
tweeted the text of Manik Sarkar's Independence Day speech on their
Twitter handle, adding, "Text of Tripura CM's Speech which AIR & DD
had the audacity to censor. This is an insult 2 People of Tripura &
Constitutional Rights of States."
Image: The letter, assistant director of
programmes (policy) for director general, Sanjiv Dosajh, wrote: "Keeping in view the sanctity and solemnity attached with the occasion
the broadcast is meant for, the CEO, Prasar Bharati was also consulted
and the collective decision taken at Delhi advises that the broadcast
may not go with its existing content. AIR/Prasar Bharati will however be
more than happy if the Hon'ble Chief Minister agrees to reshape the
content making it suitable to the solemnity of the occasion and
sentiments of the people of India at large."
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