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Journalism of Courage
As the Congress and other opposition parties stepped up the attack on Doordarshan (DD) for broadcasting RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijayadashami address, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar strongly backed the public broadcaster and asked the Congress why it had “imposed a blanket ban on telecast of RSS rallies for the past five decades”.
“I had no idea about the RSS rally’s live telecast. I learnt about it late Thursday night. The decision to show the live telecast… was taken by DD, which is an autonomous body. I had not issued any directives… But what is wrong with DD showing the RSS rally? There are several private channels which showed the live telecast because of its news value,” Javadekar said. “The big question that comes to my mind is, why did the Congress impose a blanket ban on telecast of RSS rallies for the past five decades? Why was it not shown to people?” he added.
Javadekar also rubbished suggestions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked for the address to be telecast. “DD has every right to take decisions,” he said.
In a tweet after the telecast, Modi had said, “Mohan Bhagwat ji talked about important national issues in his speech. The issues of social reform that he raised are very relevant today.”
The RSS chief’s Vijayadashami speech has been webcast live in the past on the websites rss.org and vskbharat.com, and on the spiritual network Sadhna TV. This is the first time that DD covered it.
Attacking the state broadcaster, Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said, “It is a dangerous tradition. This is not an organisation which is completely neutral. It is a controversial organisation.”
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi termed it “absolutely amazing, shocking, unbelievable and unprecedented” and an “unfortunate, gross, blatant misuse of official government largesse and machinery”.
Condemning the broadcast, the CPM said, “The RSS uses the occasion to propagate its Hindutva ideology.”
CPI national secretary D Raja said it was a “disquieting and distressing trend” that the country’s secular and democratic values were being undermined by the government.
Javadekar hit back at the criticism, saying, “What’s the whole controversy? Why are Congress and Left parties raising a hue and cry? Are the RSS criminals? Are they anti-nationals? Let any Congress or Samajwadi leader point out a single issue mentioned in the rally that goes against nationalism. The RSS always plays a role in nation-building.”
He also took a jibe at the Congress leadership, saying, “If DD could show poorly attended rallies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for the past many years, what is wrong if an RSS rally is being shown? The telecast has received tremendous response across the country.”
Asked if RSS rallies would be live telecast in the future as well, he said, “I want to know why the UPA imposed a gag on RSS rallies… The self-certified secular parties like Congress owe an explanation to people for raking up a non-issue. Who are they to decide who is secular and who is communal?”
On charges that the RSS is anti-Muslim, Javadekar said, “It is an absolutely baseless charge. To the contrary, the RSS never discriminates on the basis of caste or religion. Their focus is on social service for humanity.”
With ENS Delhi
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