BJP Finally Admits 'Namo TV' Is Run By Its IT Cell; Namo TV To Run As Of Now

Amit Malviya, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) information technology (IT) cell head, told The Indian Express on Wednesday (11 April 2019), that NaMo TV is run by BJP IT Cell.

“NaMo TV is a feature of NaMo app which is run by BJP IT cell. (The) Party has taken slots on DTH for which provisions are there to show it,” Amit Malviya told. Before Malviya, no one had taken ownership of the channel, however, many BJP Ministers including Prime Minister Modi had tweeted and appealed to watch the NaMo TV.

EC takes back its decision on NaMo TV

On April 11, the opposition parties welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to delay the releasing date of Narendra Modi’s biopic. During this judgement, the Election Commission also said that the NaMo TV violates Model Code of Conduct and mentioned that it will ban NaMo TV till the elections are over, reported Scroll.in.

Later in the day, a spokesperson representing the watchdog took back the EC’s decision of banning NaMO TV and clarified that the body’s order was misinterpreted by the officials and the ban is applied only on the biopic.

The officials had then taken a paragraph in the EC’s order to be a ban on NaMo TV as well. The statement said, “That any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including perspective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in electronic media in the area where MCC is in force.”

The spokesperson also said that the body had sought clarifications from Delhi Chief Electoral Officer regarding the pre-certification of political advertisement on NaMo TV by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee and these clarifications are now being reviewed by the EC. The watchdog’s order on the TV channel is expected on Apil 11.

AAP’s complain

NaMo TV which is named after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running on all the major Direct to Home (D2H) platforms. It airs Modi’s speeches, rallies, and other BJP supportive material. The first party to have complained against the TV channel was Aam Admi Party (AAP). EC had earlier questioned the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting regarding the TV channel to which the ministry said that the channel fell under “value-added services” category and doesn’t require clearance from the ministry.

Also Read: EC Seeks Report From I&B Ministry On ‘NaMo TV’ After Oppositions’ Complaint