CPM slams govt over Tripura CM speech broadcast row

Stepping up its attack on the Centre over Doordarshan's "refusal" to air Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's Independence Day speech, the CPI(M) today accused the Modi government of creating a situation "worse than the Emergency" and said it will fight back.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also slammed the government for launching a "brazen" attack on the federal equation between the Centre and the states.
Seeking to drag RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat into the controversy, Yechury said that the Vijayadashmi speech of the 'Sarsanghchalak', "who does not hold any public office", was aired by the public broadcaster, but Independence Day speech of an elected chief minister, Sarkar, was "blocked".

Yechury further demanded to see the approval granted to the text of the RSS chief's address before it was telecast and "amendments suggested to him".
"Sarkar's speech was recorded by Doordarshan, but it was not shown. Then a letter was sent to him, saying that they (Prasar Bharti) will be glad to show it only if he reshapes the text of his address.
"This is reminiscent of not only Mrs Indira Gandhi's Emergency, when there was a press censorship of a very high level, but this has become even worse than that," Yechury told reporters here.

To buttress his point, Yechury said no chief minister was disallowed from speaking on the occasion of Independence or Republic Day during the Emergency (imposed between 1975 and 1977).

"But what has been done, is therefore, a precursor to very big authoritarian onslaught and a censorship of the media that this government is embarking upon which is completely not permissible and this will be fought," he added.
The Left leader said Prasar Bharti's decision to "block" Sarkar's customary address was also a "gross interference" in the right of the states.
He said that asking the head of state, Sarkar, to speak "only what is in consonance" with the Centre's understanding on the said occasions was "tantamount to undermining" the federal principles of the Constitution.
"What the chief minister speaks about, he is answerable in the state assembly," he said.

Earlier in the day, Yechury also tweeted on the issue saying, "Neither Modi's cronies at Prasar Bharti nor BJP or RSS, have any locus standi to decide on what an elected CM of a state speaks on August 15".
He further told reporters that the CPI(M) is talking to all non-BJP governments to "realise this is how the authoritarian path is being pushed forward".
Yechury alleged Sarkar's speech was blocked even though the RSS chief's Vijayadashmi address was broadcast by Doordarshan following a "very very partisan" approach.
He also claimed that the press conference addressed by an RSS leader on the "attacks on Sangh workers", allegedly by the CPI(M) in Kerala, was also aired live.

"What does this mean? That only one point of view will have to be shown to the people and that will be decided by the powers that be," he added.
He also raised questions over Bhagwat hoisting the flag on Independence Day yesterday at a Kerala school rather than at the RSS office.
In Agartala, Tripura CPI-M secretary Bijan Dhar accused the Centre of curbing the autonomy of Prasar Bharati after Sarkar's allegation that Doordarshan and All India Radio had refused to broadcast his speech unless he "reshaped" it.
"This is a gross infringement on the rights of a chief minister to address the people of his state on Independence Day", Dhar said.

"This only reminds us of the black days of Emergency and goes beyond as it seeks to gag the elected chief minister of a state. The central government is curbing the autonomy of Doordarshan/AIR and Prasar Bharati by such acts of censorship," he alleged.
The in-charge of Doordarshan, Agartala, U K Sahoo has said, "Though his (Sarkar's) recorded speech was not broadcast, his speech on Independence Day at Assam Rifles parade ground here was covered by Doordarshan and broadcast in the form of news.
"We are always covering the chief minister's programmes. There is no question of a black-out," he said.