Some TV channels crossed 'Lakshman rekha' while covering Yakub Memon case: Rathore

New Delhi: The government is “very reluctant” about issuing show cause notices to TV news channels but had to resort to it after some of them crossed the “Lakshman Rekha” while covering Yakub Memon case, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_2427528” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. GettyImages[/caption] “The government is always very reluctant to issue notices to channels for breaking the programme code,” Rathore said, adding the government wanted them to exercise self-regulation. He said the I&B Ministry issued an advisory during the recent terror attack in Punjab that no live telecast should be carried out and most channels followed the programme code. He, however, said there were some “minor” violations with an anchor mentioning that the sound of gunfire could be heard and visuals of people shooting being aired. Maintaining that some channels crossed the “Lakshman Rekha” in the Yaqub Memon hanging case, the minister said, “In the rush for TRP, they brought in Chhota Shakeel, of all people, to comment from the other side. And he (Shakeel) on one news channel actually went on to say that every action has a reaction. And then when questioned further, he says, there are others who are watching you and will act against you.” Rathore said the country’s territory, which includes frequencies in the air, cannot be used by people “who are against us to do their propaganda”. “We issued a showcause notice as the idea was that the channels maintain broadcasts within the parameters where India is not affected. Where we don’t foment community issues against each other …..We (Government) are very liberal by far,” Rathore said. The I&B ministry had issued Show Cause Notices to four channels over their coverage of Yakub Memon hanging case. Of these, two had carried Shakeel’s comments. Rathore was responding to questions at an interaction after delivering the 19th Col Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture on ‘Role and Limitations of Social Media in Image Building and Perception Management’. In his lecture, Rathore said social media has many advantages but added elements inimical to India’s interests could use it for spreading rumours. The only way to counter this, he said, is that people have to be present on internet like soldiers and spread the positive message. Speaking about the importance of social media, Rathore said it empowers people to express themselves and also lets two way communication happen between people. He said the ministries and department are on social media. “We have realised it is a very important channel of communication….We have created a social media cell. We are tracking social media throughout 24 hours,” he said. He added that the ministry has a software which trawls millions of websites in an hour and picks up all the specified keywords. “So it provides to the government trends and analysis of anything that happens,” Rathore said and added that on the One Rank, One Pension issue government had used this feedback. “Till date, it has generated about 1500 reports. On a daily basis the report goes to some of the top ministers to understand as to their policy decisions, what is the effect it is having on the general public,” Rathore added. Rathore, who is a retired colonel, told the gathering primarily comprising of ex-servicemen that rumours can be easily spread on social media. He cited an example when people from north eastern states began moving out of Bangalore following an incident of assault after the social media was awash with it. He said there were umpteen examples of pictures or visuals taken in some other country being referred to as having happened elsewhere. Because of these reasons, social media can be dangerous and the only way to counter it is yourself being on social media and and sending the right message. “It is very difficult to police it,” Rathore said. He said internet as a medium is meant to be entirely free and there is a lot of public uproar if any attempt is made to put any restrictions on social media. The minister said the government favours free communication but there are concerns about the ability of “inimical elements” to use this medium to attempt mischief. “Our defences are very well covered from air, from land, from sea. But not from the internet. And the enemy can very easily without any restriction, through news…. or through views on social media can enter our country. There are no boundaries between districts and states and countries and so this is certainly a threat,” he said. Rathore said the only defence against such mischief is that we have a large number of people on social media so that we understand when there is an “ideological seed being planted and we are able to counter it”. “We all, the public, have to become soldiers on the internet. And if we play our part of soldiers, then we will be able to police it to a certain extent,” he added. PTI