Puneet Nicholas Yadav / DNA
New Delhi, Nov 1: With assembly elections due in Delhi in a month and the general elections not far away, the state Congress plans to launch television news channel which would highlight the party’s agenda and achievements.
An independent organisation backed by the party will control the 24-hour channel. It may be recalled that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had in February this year, issued a consultation paper on whether state governments, urban and local bodies, political parties and religious organisations should be allowed to offer television and radio broadcasting and distribution services.
The paper was in response to the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry seeking the regulator’s recommendations on the matter. However, since Trai has not yet made its stand clear on whether a news channel could be directly owned by a political outfit, the state Congress will not officially own the channel.
Governments of several states like West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have also sought the Centre’s permission over the years to start TV or radio broadcasting services.
Incidentally, political control of some broadcasting houses in the country, especially in the South, is well known. But, these are not directly owned and run by state governments or individual political parties.
The Kerala unit of the Congress backs a Malayalam news channel called Jai Hind. Apparently, Kerala Congress chief R Chhenithala is also the brain behind the party’s channel in Delhi.
Jai Prakash Agarwal, president Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee confirmed the report: “Yes, plans to launch a news channel owned by an independent trust are underway.
Though we have not yet finalised the exact date of launching the channel and its name we are hopeful that we will be able complete all formalities before the state election due on November 29.” He added the launch would happen soon as separate clearances would not be needed since the Delhi channel would only be an extension of the Malayalam channel.