Kerala MPs want I&B Minister to lift ban on Media One

New Delhi: MPs from Kerala have expressed their solidarity with Media One news channel. The group of MPs met with Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur to demand the lifting of the ban imposed by the Central Government on the channel.

K. Sudhakaran, E.T. Muhammad Basheer, NK Premachandran, Kodikunnil Suresh, A.M. Arif, Hibi Eden, Abdussamad Samadani, T.N. Prathapan, Adoor Prakash, Dean Kuriakose and Rajmohan Unnithan were part of the delegation that met the Union Minister.

"In today's meeting, the I&B ministry said it doesn't have any role as it is a matter of internal security, so the Home Ministry is involved. We will meet Home Minister tomorrow and ask for the explanation," Sudhakaran said after the meeting.

A petition was submitted by the delegation to the Union mInister, demanding his personal intervention into the matter and criticising the blanket ban enforced by the Central government on the Media One channel.

No proper legal protocol was followed by the government in this case, Sudhakaran added.

"We express solidarity with the channel. This is a tip of an iceberg and indicates an era to come. This is a clear violation of all the legal procedures. We will raise the issue in Parliament if the Home Minister doesn't give us a proper answer. Don't expect us to be silent on these issues," said E.T Muhammed Basheer.

NK Premchandran asserted that the Information and Broadcasting Minister u had violated all procedures and that the curtailing of Medi One broadcast was a violation of press freedom.The incident explicitly shows the attempts to shut down media that are exposing the government, and all who believe in democracy should act against it, the MP added.

Binoy Vishwan, MP, said that apart from all the ideological differences, the group expressed solidarity to Media One TV. He stated that the issue was of the conscience of Kerala and that the MP's voice represented the public opinion of all the people in Kerala. The centre should step back from the attempt to ban Media One, he told media after the meeting was concluded.

"India declined from 138 to 142 in the Press Freedom Index. Press freedom is under threat each and every day. This reflects in action against Media One. [There is a] clear violation of IT information standing committee report submitted to Parliament. Information and Broadcasting Ministry is authorised to decide the matters regarding Media but now acting as a subdivision of Home Ministry," said John Brittas MP on the issue.

The Union government on Monday barred the telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne citing "security reasons", but the Kerala High Court stayed the implementation of the order for two days after a plea was filed by Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd. which owns the channel. The case will be heard on Wednesday.

The parent company asserted that the channel had not been involved in any anti-national activities and that the suspension was unwarranted.