Misuse of state resources? DD may live telecast RSS chief Bhagwat's speech

Public broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) is reportedly preparing to live telecast the annual Vijaya Dashmi address of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat from Nagpur. The Times of India quoted DD officials as saying that “three technical teams have been moved to Nagpur from Delhi and an OB van is already stationed there to cut live to the speech but a final call on whether to show it live or not will be taken in the morning. “ The NDTV channel added that “Sources in Doordarshan and RSS have confirmed that it would be telecast live on the national channel.” [caption id=“attachment_1740945” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] If this does prove to be the case, it will be an unprecedented event, given that the Vijaya Dashmi address was not telecast live even during the first NDA regime, under Atal Behari Vajpayee. In the past,the speech has usually been covered by a “stringer” deployed by DD rather than a full-time reporter. The TOI report notes that “If the speech is telecast live, it will mark Sangh’s freshly-acquired political ascendancy and its willingness to project the power it has now, besides the mainstreaming of Hindutva.” Prominent historian Ramachandra Guha reacting to the news, said that if true it would be a “dangerous misuse of the state machinery.”

The @timesofindia says DD will cover the RSS's chief Vijayadashami speech live. This is a dangerous misuse of the state machinery.

— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) October 3, 2014

The Vijaya Dashmi event, which has been an annual practice since the founding of the organisation in 1925, is usually an event in which the RSS leader lays down the Sangh’s vision, analyses the situation in the country and mentions its expectations from the government. Senior BJP leaders and state party officials usually attend the event. Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the people today, via All India Radio. “Received many ideas and suggestions for my forthcoming radio programme. Have decided to hold the first programme on 3rd October at 11:00 AM,” Modi had said on Twitter. In another tweet in Hindi, Modi had said “3 October ko aap sabhi se radio par kuch man ki baatein karunga” (On 3rd October, I will share some of my thoughts with all of you).