JOIN USBJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to look into the use of the word ‘Republic’, the proposed name for a new TV news channel to be launched by journalist Arnab Goswami.
In a letter to the I&B secretary, the BJP leader noted that certain names and emblems were prohibited from being used under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, “for professional and commercial purposes.” “As per the schedule accompanying the statute, under Item 6, there is an express prohibition from using the phrase, ‘Republic’. Hence, the grant of licence to a news channel to broadcast under the name of ‘Republic’ will be contrary to law and a direct breach of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950,” he added.
Swamy, who wrote to the I&B secretary on January 13, posted a copy of his letter on Twitter on Wednesday. “Your office may look into the use of ‘Republic’ and determine if it is prohibited to use a licence under such name,” he stated in the letter.