Punjab minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa Friday met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and urged him to end the monopoly of one TV channel over the telecast of Gurbani Kirtan. He alleged that Badal family owned PTC channel has the exclusive rights of the telecast of Kirtan from Golden Temple. “It is a very old demand of Sikhs to telecast Gurbani Kirtan from Golden Temple all over the world. I have come to know that Badal family owned TV channel pays negligible amount for exclusive rights to telecast the Gurbani Kirtan. It is not a correct approach of the SGPC. Akal Takht Jathedar should ask SGPC to allow all interested TV and Radio channels to telecast Gurbani Kirtan,” said Bajwa after meeting Jathedar. He said, “Jathedar Sahib has told me that he has summoned some information related to Gurbani Kirtan telecast from SGPC but hasn’t received it yet. I am hopeful that Jathedar will take required action over my request.” However, when asked why his government failed to end the alleged monopoly of a political family over cable, Bajwa said, “I don’t have information about the issue of monopoly over cable network. I don’t have enough understanding of issue. It is true that the the monopoly over Gurbani Kirtan telecast and monopoly over cable network is linked,” Bajwa said while talking to The Indian Express. Earlier, on August 2, 2017, after Congress had formed government in Punjab, then Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had said: “The Punjab government is committed to break the monopoly and create level playing field in cable TV industry. It is a long and sordid saga of corruption by the previous (SAD-BJP) regime, which would now be taken to its logical conclusion.” Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh too had said that he was committed to ending the cable mafia and would allow any organisation to compete in a healthy environment as long as it is not found to be engaged in any unlawful activity.
