The government on Saturday revoked a 48-hour ban on two leading Malayalam news channels hours after imposing the punitive measure on separate charges of being critical of the RSS, Delhi Police and siding with one community while covering last month's violence in the national capital.
It was not immediately clear whether widespread criticism of the ban on Asianet News and Media One channels prompted the government to withdraw the restrictions.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters in Pune that Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the entire issue, adding the government supports press freedom.
Without going into specifics, Javadekar said he would look into the matter and take "essential steps" if any wrongdoing is found.
"I will definitely go into the details and take essential steps if there is any wrongdoing. But let me also tell you that everybody should accept that there has to be responsible freedom," he said.
The channels were suspended for 48 hours beginning 7:30 PM on Friday over their coverage of the communal violence in Delhi. The official orders said that the channels covered events of February 25 in a manner that "highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community".
Also Read
The ban on Asianet News was lifted at 1.30 am, while the ban on Media One was lifted at 9.30 am on Saturday, a source in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told PTI.
In its order against Media On, the ministry said the channel questioned the RSS and accused Delhi Police of inaction.
The Congress and Left parties came down hard on the government for the punitive action, calling the clampdown "stifling of media freedom".
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the ban a "dangerous trend" and added it was an indication of the coming dangers.
"The Centre has made an infringement into the freedom of the press, crossing all limits. There is a threat that if anybody criticises RSS and Sangh Parivar, they will be taught a lesson," he said in a statement.
Asianet News Editor M G Radhakrishnan said management of the channel contacted the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after the ban was imposed and spoken with relevant people explaining its position on the matter.
Media One Editor-in-chief C L Thomas said his channel had not reached out to the government and the ministry "suo motu" revoked the ban.
"We were proceeding for legal action. Today we got the information that the ban has been revoked, so we did not go ahead with the legal proceedings. We did not contact anyone in the ministry, the government suo motu lifted the ban," Thomas said.
The ministry's suspension order for Media One had said, "Channel's reporting on Delhi violence seems to be biased as it is deliberately focusing on the vandalism of CAA supporters. It also questions RSS and alleges Delhi Police inaction. Channel seems to be critical towards Delhi Police and RSS."
Javadekar said, "Two Kerala channels were banned for 48 hours. We immediately found out what exactly happened and therefore we immediately restored the channels."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content