Asianet News, Media One back on air as govt lifts ban

Even as the 48-hour ban imposed on two Malayalam news channels in connection with Delhi violence reporting was lifted in hardly 12-hours, protests mounted against the decision of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The prohibition orders on the telecast of Asianet News and Media for 48-hours from 7:30 pm on Friday were lifted by Saturday morning. While Asianet News management tendered an unconditional apology, Media One maintained that they did not apologise.

Strongly condemning the action against the news channels, Kerala Chief Minister and senior CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan said that an undeclared emergency was prevailing in the country. The prohibition orders on news channels could be seen only as a warning against those threatening RSS and other Sangh Parivar outfits. It is also an infringement on the freedom of the media, he said.

Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress said that the prohibition on media was an assault on democracy. The RSS and BJP were seemed to be testing the water by initiating such steps, he said.

Minister of State for External Affairs and BJP leader from Kerala V Muraleedharan said that Asianet News's ban was lifted as they tendered apology while the ban on Media One was lifted in order to ensure equal justice.

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists staged a protest march in Thiruvananthapuram condemning the action.

Prohibition was imposed on the transmission of the channels accusing them of hurting communal sentiments while reporting the recent north-east Delhi violence. The ban on Asianet News had raised many eyebrows as BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is non-executive chairman of Jupiter capital which is the major investor in Asianet News. Media One, headquartered in Kozhikode, is run by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited. The order prohibiting Media One stated that channel seemed to be critical towards Delhi Police and RSS.