Objectionable TV content issue raised in Indian Parliament

[M@zh@R]

New Delhi:With members of parliament voicing concern over objectionable content on TV channels, the government Tuesday said it was open to an all-party meeting to discuss the issue, but made it clear it was against issuing any diktat.

"I have no objection if a law is made after an all-party meeting is convened by the prime minister in which views of everyone are taken in writing," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said while replying to a supplementary during question hour in the Lok Sabha.

"We are getting views. After collating the views, we want to bring a law which is beyond the self-regulatory body which has been set up," she added.

Soni informed the upper house that a draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill has already been posted on the ministry's website and a final bill could be brought for parliament's consideration after getting feedback from various stakeholders.

Soni stressed that the "media is a sensitive matter, no matter what we say", and added that it was important to get the views of those who would be affected by the bill.

Narrating her own experiences, Soni said as a mother and grandmother, she herself was "worried" at some of the the content being broadcast on TV channels. However, she made it clear that without discussion, any "fatwa based on law" or direction on the subject will simply not do.

The minister added that a two-tier self-regulatory system is in place to monitor the contents on TV channels. Under the first tier, the channels themselves check the output. The tier two consists of a regulatory mechanism comprising a 13-member body.

Around 300 complaints have been received by the body since June last year, Soni said, adding that monetary fine was imposed on one channel.

The tricky issue of content regulation, a move vigorously opposed by the electronic media, also came up during a debate on the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Second Amendment Bill.

Soni was responding to concerns expressed by many MPs, who contended that TV channels were broadcasting indecent and obscene content.

Advertisements shown on TV channels, including during news programmes, were so "indecent" and "obscene" that these could not be watched with family members, complained Shailender Kumar of the Samajwadi Party.

Maheshwar Hazari of the JD-U also complained that programmes telecast on TV channels were simply not worth watching with family members.
source:medianewsline