New Delhi: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry, on Saturday, March 7, lifted the 48-hour ban imposed on two Malayalam news channels for their reportage of the Delhi riots that could “enhance communal disharmony” across the country, sources said.
The ban on Asianet News was lifted at 1.30 am, while the ban on MediaOne was lifted at 9.30 am on Saturday, a source at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told PTI.
It can be recalled that on March 6, the MIB had imposed a 48-hour ban (from 7.30 pm on March 6 to 7.30 pm on March 8) on both the channels for their coverage of the Delhi violence, specifically their criticism of the RSS and the Delhi Police and their coverage of events on February 25 in a manner that “highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community”.
MediaOne’s parent company, on Friday, issued a press statement that it would “fight legally against this unprecedented and undemocratic action imposed by information and Broadcasting Ministry”.
According to PTI, sources said the two channels had written to the ministry seeking revocation of the bans, following which it was lifted.
Following the imposition of the ban, the Congress and the CPI had come down hard on the government, calling the clampdown a “stifling of media freedom”.
(With inputs from PTI)
