News channel Times Now Navbharat has been asked to take down a video dated September 2022 for its ‘communal tilt’.
The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority on Thursday, November 2, directed the news channel to remove the video from its websites and other mediums. The show was anchored by Times Now Navbharat’s editor-in-chief Navika Kumar.
The video, aired on September 29, 2022, talks about Muslim men allegedly entering a Garba event and taking pictures of Hindu women. These men, as claimed in the show, were later caught and assaulted by far-right Bajrang Dal workers.
The order was passed based on a complaint filed by two persons who claimed that Times Now Navbharat purposely targeted the Muslim community to bring a communal divide, and violated broadcasting standards.
One of the complainants argued, “In a country like India where diverse people of all backgrounds come together to celebrate festivals, such a question was raised by the anchor on national television based solely on some reports which claimed that some boys had ‘allegedly’ misbehaved during the garba festival.”
The channel, however, alleged the focus of the programme was on women’s safety and not communal divide.
However, the news regulatory body was not convinced by the response. “Instead of confining to the issue of safety of women, the broadcaster went overboard and gave it a communal tilt which tends to taint the manner in which the programme was conducted,” the order said.
Times Now Navbharat was cautioned to use such language by the regulatory body. “The broadcaster had violated the guidelines to prevent communal colour in reporting crime, riots, rumours and such related incidents and the Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage relating to Racial and Religious Harmony,” the order said.
