Election Commission Bars NaMo TV From Airing Political Content Without Certification
Delhi CEO approved the logo of NaMo TV, which BJP said is part of the NaMo App that it owns, but did not “certify” the content.
The Election Commission has said that political content on NaMo TV should be pre-certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee of Delhi since it is sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
It also said that all recorded programmes and political publicity displayed on the platform without pre-certification should be removed immediately.
The poll panel said any political content has to be permitted by the local media certification committee “strictly in accordance with the Election Commission's instructions in this regard”.
After the Congress filed a complaint with the poll panel about the channel disturbing the level playing field, the Election Commission had asked the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer to file a report on the issue.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the poll panel that it was an advertising platform that did not require a licence from the ministry.
The Delhi CEO approved the logo of NaMo TV, which the BJP said is part of the NaMo App that it owns, but did not “certify” the content as it contained the old speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It has been brought to the notice of the commission that NaMo TV/content TV is a platform service offered by DTH operators to the BJP on a paid basis... any political publicity material or contents being displayed on electronic media without the requisite certification from competent authority (MCMC in this ease) should be removed immediately and any political content shall only be permitted strictly in accordance with the Election Commission's instructions in this regard,” the Election Commission directive read.
It pointed out that the Delhi CEO's committee has not pre-certified the content being displayed on NaMo TV.
“As NaMo TV/content TV is sponsored by a political party, all recorded programmes of political contents displayed on the channel/platform would be covered under the purview of the commission's order... Accordingly, all political advertisements and all recorded programmes with political contents are mandatorily required to be pre-certified by the MCMC before telecasting/displaying,” it said.