The Congress yesterday petitioned the Election Commission (EC) to stop the launch of Doordarshan's 24-hour channel till the constitution of the 13th Lok Sabha and the installation of the next government. The Left parties have already petitioned the EC against the launch.
Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal said the launch of the 24-hour channel just before elections was "yet another way of propagating the ideology of a political party by the official media which is currently under (Pramod) Mahajan".
He charged that "in the process, very lucrative contracts will be given out to parties which are close to the BJP ideology".
The party has complained that, even otherwise, the media coverage by the official media was not fair towards the Opposition parties.
In a memorandum to the EC, the Congress has pointed out that for the 24-hour channel, Doordarshan would be selecting media persons and organisations to produce programmes. By doing so, they would not only be granting favours, but also would be endearing itself to certain producers and personalities by paying hefty amounts under these contracts. "This tends to compromise the fourth estate in such a way that it is likely to have an impact on the outcome of the elections".
