EC Seeks Response from I&B Ministry Over NaMo TV After Complaints

The poll body has also written to Doordarshan over broadcast of PM Modi’s ‘Mein Bhi Chowkidaar’ event on 31 March.

(Photo: PTI)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a response from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry over the 24-hour channel ‘NaMo TV’, based on the complaints filed by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.

The letter, written by the EC to the I&B secretary, has been received by the ministry and is being examined, sources cited by The Economic Times said.

The poll body has also written to autonomous public service broadcaster Doordarshan over the hour-long broadcast of PM Modi’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidaar’ event on 31 March, after a complaint by the Congress to the EC, the daily further reported on Wednesday, 3 April.

Launched on 31 March, NaMo TV is devoted to the coverage of PM Modi’s speeches and rallies, with both the BJP and Modi having promoted it on social media, though there’s no clarity on who owns the channel.

In a letter to the EC written on Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party had asked the poll body if permission was sought by the BJP before the launch of the channel.

“Can permission be granted to a party to have their own TV channel even after model code of conduct is enforced? If no permission was sought by the ECI, then what action has been taken,” AAP wrote in the letter according to news agency ANI.

The party also said the Supreme Court in its various judgments, held that there has to be a “level playing field” for all political parties. “The Commission is entrusted with the duty to maintain the same among all the parties.”

(With inputs from The Economic Times and ANI.)