Our Bureau / New Delhi
Even while Republic TV chief editor Arnab Goswami faces police probe in Mumbai over a defamatory telecast against Sonia Gandhi, the Congress opened another front against him on Tuesday, with its youth wing moving the I&B Ministry with a complaint to cancel the licences of his Republic TV, Republic TV Bharat and their holding Company ARG Outlier Media Private Limited for violating its programme code and uplinking and downloading guidelines and advisory issued on 25.02.2020.
Indian Youth Congress national secretary Amrish Ranjan Pandey sought the action with regard to a debate conducted by Goswami in the “Puchhta Bharat” show on Republic TV Bharat on April 21 regarding the Palghar mob lynching of two sadhus on the night of April 16. He alleged in the 2-page petition the entire incident was given a communal flavour when there existed none and thus creating communal disharmony in the country when the entire country is fighting together Covid-19 pandemic.
The complaint alleged both Republic TV Bharat and Republic TV aired similar shows with communal flavour on multiple occasions. It asserted the shows were in complete violation of the Programme Code rules as prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, prohibiting airing of anything that offends against good taste or decency.
It said the programmes also violate the I&B Ministry’s advisory issued on February 25 to caution the satellite TV channels against any content which is defamatory, deliberate, false or suggests innuendoes and half truths. It said the complaint is being filed since no action has been taken by the ministry till date despite violations being writ evident.
Pandey said he has also filed a copy of the complaint to the Press Council of India to take or recommend an appropriate action against Goswami “for belittling the profession of journalism by acting in absolute contempt and disregard of all norms and guides of journalistic ethics.”
