India asked to 'back off' from bid to ban pro-Muslim news channel

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watchdog body, has called on the Indian authorities to allow the Malayalam-language news channel MediaOne TV, which is reportedly linked to an Islamic political party, to operate freely, and not suspend broadcasters over their work.

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suspended the broadcaster for unspecified “security reasons” and because it allegedly had not been granted a security clearance by the home ministry during its licence renewal, according to news reports and a statement by the outlet.

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Following the suspension, the Kerala High Court temporarily postponed the government’s order until a hearing later in the week. The channel has since resumed live broadcasting.

“Indian authorities should not use vague security concerns to suspend broadcasters like MediaOne TV,” Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator in Washington DC, said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting must drop its bid to ban MediaOne TV and stop efforts to create such a harmful precedent.”

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MediaOne TV is owned by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, many of whose investors are members of the Kerala state chapter of the Islamic organisation, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, according to the Indian press reports.

The channel has critically reported on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as the government’s response to protests surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act and farming legislation.

CPJ said it emailed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Home Ministry for comment, but did not immediately receive any replies.