Govt issues advisory to TV channels on coverage of Ukraine conflict, Delhi riots

New Delhi: Taking exception to television coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Delhi riots, the government on Saturday issued a strong advisory to news channels asking them to abide by the programme code laid down by the relevant laws.

The government cited specific instances of “hyberbolic” statements by news anchors and “scandalous headlines/taglines” while reporting on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and disrupting the investigation process into the “incidents” in northwest Delhi by airing “unverified CCTV footages”.

It also said that certain debates on television channels on the incidents in northwest Delhi had “unparliamentary, provocative and socially unacceptable language”.

Last week, clashes broke out between two communities in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. “Having regard to the above, the government expresses serious concern about the manner in which the television channels have gone about their operations in the manner of transmitting content…,” read the advisory issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

It “strongly advised” the television channels to “immediately refrain from publishing and transmitting any content which is violative of the aforementioned provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and the rules thereunder.”