Centre Revokes 48 Hour Ban On 2 Kerala Channels
The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar announced on Saturday that the 48-hour ban on two Malayalam channels, Asianet News and Media One, had been revoked. He added that the channels were restored after the government found out what actually happened. Javadekar also said that press freedom is essential to democracy.
Moreover, Javadekar recalled, that the Modi government is committed to a free press also because the BJP had fought against the muzzling of press freedom. The Union I & B Minister, however, pointed out that as everyone accepts "it has to be responsible freedom."
I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar: Two Kerala dailies were banned for 48 hours, we immediately found out what actually happened and therefore immediately we restored the channels. Our basic thought process is that press freedom is absolutely essential for a democratic setup (1/2) pic.twitter.com/9sSH7tGTh7
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2020
The Union government had on Friday, banned two Malayalam news channels, Asianet News and Media One, for 48 hours for their alleged partisan coverage of the violence in North East Delhi last week. The bans came into force at 7.30 pm on Friday.
The bans on the Malayalam channels came in for widespread criticism with several opposition leaders and journalists accusing the government of targeting the media selectively. In a surprise move, the Centre decided to revoke the ban on Saturday.