The Ministry’s advisory comes in the wake of extensive, violent protests in the North East region against the Citizenship Amendment Bill
New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued an advisory to all private TV channels which asked them to abstain from broadcasting content that could stir up violence or cause law and order problems. The Ministry’s advisory comes in the wake of extensive, violent protests in the North East region against the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
The media advisory has referred to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995 to caution TV channels from broadcasting content which is “likely to encourage or stir up violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order”. The advisory also extends to the broadcast of any content that “promotes anti-national attitudes or contains anything affecting the integrity of the India”.
The order comes at a time violent agitation has clutched the North East over the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The army has been deployed in Assam and Tripura, with a curfew imposed in Guwahati and Dibrugarh. Mobile internet has also been snapped in parts of Assam and Tripura.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill proposes to bring in a religious component to India’s citizenship law, giving non-Muslim illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan access to Indian citizenship. This has faced strong opposition from the North East region, where many communities are feared by migration from Bangladesh as it can also change the demography.
The CAB was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
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