Order Banning Modi Biopic Also Applies to NaMo TV: EC Official

The order comes a day before the country goes for the first phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission’s order banning screening of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi also applies to NaMo TV, which cannot be aired during the poll period.

A senior official of the poll panel on Wednesday, 10 April, referred to a paragraph in the order which said, "that any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including prospective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in electronic media in the area where MCC is in force."

The EC banned the release of Vivek Oberoi-starrer PM Narendra Modi, saying any such film that subserves purpose of any political entity or individual should not be displayed in the electronic media. The movie was originally expected to release on Thursday, 11 April, the day of the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The Many Controversies of NaMo TV

NaMo TV is a 24x7 channel which focuses only on the speeches and rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Since the channel was launched on all major DTH channels, it has sparked questions on its legality and ownership.

Here’s all you need to know about the NaMo TV controversy:

• NaMo TV doesn’t feature on the list of Permitted Private Satellite TV Channels, as declared by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 31 March 2019.
• In fact, I&B Ministry sources have been quoted as saying that NaMo TV has not even applied for a broadcast licence.
• Since NaMo TV is not on the I&B Ministry’s list of approved channels, there is no information about who owns it, whether the owners have security clearance or are adhering to rules of foreign investment for TV channels.
• Since the controversy broke out, Tata Sky tweeted that “NaMo TV is a Hindi news service.” But later, the Tata Sky CEO speaking to NDTV claimed NaMo TV is not a news channel, but a special services channel.
• Even if NaMo TV was a home-shopping, a news or an entertainment channel, it would still need licence to be broadcast as a satellite channel. And as we know, the channel does not have such a licence. So, how has it been allowed to be on-air?
• A channel named NaMo TV was launched in October 2012, a day after Assembly elections were declared in the state. It was shut down a day later, pending clearances by the Election Commission. NaMo Gujarat highlighted Modi’s achievements and was aired on cable networks, DTH and digital TV.
• Responding to EC's notice, the I&B Ministry has said that NaMo TV is an advertisement platform launched by DTH service providers and it does not require the government's nod, according to sources as quoted by the media.