With Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to promote themselves and their parties whom they affiliated to. The Lok Sabha elections date has already been announced and the model code of conduct has already come into force. Since then the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has been surrounded by controversies. First, the PM Narendra Modi biopic and now NaMo TV.
NaMo TV was launched on March 31, 2019, and the channel focuses only on the speeches and rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This channel is available on all major DTH networks. NaMo TV, after making its debut, created a stir among political parties regarding the content it aired. Even questions are being raised on the channel’s legality and ownership. After its launch, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have written to the Election Commission of India saying that NaMo TV violates the Model Code of Conduct.
Since its launch, most of the parties have dubbed NaMo TV as a propaganda tool for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Lok Sabha elections and is in violation of the model code of conduct.
So the question here is that does the channel violate the model code of conduct?
It is still to be ascertained if the channel violates the model code of conduct, but it surely does endorse the BJP party leaders. So if the channel promotes BJP leaders and, as the model code of conduct is in force, doesn’t it indirectly violate it? The channel supposedly violates the model code of conduct rules which says, ‘Advertisement materials must not –
(a) mention the party in government, by name;
(b) directly attack views or actions of others in opposition;
(c) include any party/political symbol or logo or flag;
(d) aim to influence public support for a political party/candidate for election
Meanwhile, several questions are being raised on the identity of NaMo TV, like is it a news channel or an add-on service offered by direct-to-home (DTH) or an entertainment channel?
Initially Tata Sky, through a tweet, had called NaMo TV a “Hindi news service which provides the latest breaking news on national politics.” But as debate raged over allegations of channel violating the model code of conduct in place for the general elections, Tata Sky in a statement said: “Namo TV is a special service available to all subscribers. The content of the service comes from BJP.” “Tata Sky is a content distribution platform. For any content related queries please connect with the owners of the content,” it added. Initially, Tata Sky had stated that the channel had been added to all subscribers account “as a launch offer.” “There is no option to delete the individual channel,” it had said in a separate tweet. The tweets are no longer available on Tata Sky Twitter handle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched NaMo TV on March 31, via his personal Twitter channel. Shortly after this, Congress and Aam Adami Party (AAP) moved Election Commission, which has issued a notice seeking a report from the I&B Ministry. The I&B Ministry has reportedly stated that NaMo TV is an advertisement channel which does not require prior permission and it is run on certain DTH channels on payment made by the BJP.
As the identity of the channel and the owner remains mysterious, NaMo TV’s presence raises questions not only about a ruling party’s exertions of power in the media space but also the possibility of violating the model code of conduct.
