Launching of a new channel has created a storm as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party complained to the Election Commission of India about it on Monday. The channel is dedicated to showing the rallies and speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is available on all major national DTH operators including Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel, Siti Network among others.
As reported by Indian Express, Congress submitted a memorandum to the EC, stating that Content TV (NaMo TV was briefly rechristened as Content TV last week) “is dedicated solely to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and BJP for promoting and advertising the achievements of the government, personal achievements of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, political rallies of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and broadcasting interviews of prominent BJP leaders”.
Saying that it has become amply evident that the said channel is being used as a political campaign tool solely for promoting the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and BJP, Congress asked the EC to direct the I&B Ministry to suspend the channel.
The party also pointed out that the channel is not mentioned in the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting’s list of permitted private satellite channels in India.
Meanwhile, AAP too wrote to the Election Commission on Monday against the channel. Saying that BJP has “launched a 24-hours channel NaMo TV”, the party asked the EC if permission can be granted “even after the Model Code of Conduct is enforced”. It further asked the EC if BJP had sought the EC’s permissions, and if not, what action would the EC take against it.