New Delhi: I & B minister Manish Tewari has said the ministry is at an arm’s length with Prasar Bharati. The autonomy of Prasar Bharati is guaranteed by the act of Parliament.
Tewari was responding to BJP’s charge that under government pressure, Doordarshan had edited out certain key parts of Modi’s interview. Modi himself reacted saying the Emergency has revisited the I & B ministry.
“I feel very sad to see our National TV channel struggling to maintain its professional freedom.â€
On Friday, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had distanced himself from the interview editing row saying that Doordarshan lacks autonomy. He claimed that a “shadow” still looms over government servants posted at DD which is leading to lack of credibility of the public broadcaster.
In a letter to the members of the Prasar Bharati Board, he wrote about the lack of operational autonomy from I & B ministry. “A young minister didn’t give greater autonomy,” he reportedly wrote in his letter.
However, denying any wrongdoing, Doordarshan in a statement said, “There was no deliberate editing or omission of any portion of the interview. Wherever editing was done, it was for technical reasons and during post-production. There was no interference or control from any authority in the entire process.”
The interview caught national attention because Modi had referred to Priyanka Gandhi as her daughter. However, Modi’s office on Friday released the full interview, pointing out that Modi never said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi is like his daughter.