NaMo TV violates Model Code of Conduct? Election Commission seeks answer from I&B Ministry

Guwahati, April 4, 2019:

NaMo TV, the 24-hour channel that borrows the PM’s name and his image for its logo, has been pushed by the BJP party’s official Twitter handles as well as those linked to the party, but opposition parties have alleged that the platform is being used by the saffron party to push “poll propaganda”. In a highly suspicious move, the channel was launched less than a fortnight before the Lok Sabha elections commence.

Now, the Election Commission has issued a notice seeking a report from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on NaMo TV and it remains to be seen reply the Ministry gives as a cloud of controversy hovers over the BJP’s latest poll tool.

Questions linger over the channel as it is being run on all major DTH services, yet nobody knows how the channel is being funded. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress party have complained to the Election Commission.

The Congress wrote that the channel was dedicated “solely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP for promoting and advertising the achievements of the government, personal achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, political rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and broadcasting interviews of prominent BJP leaders." The AAP too have asked the Election Commission whether permission has been granted to run the television channel.

It may be mentioned that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect on March 10 after the EC announced a seven-phase election from April 11 to May 19.