Army deployed to stop infiltration of Rohingyas: Rajnath Singh
New Delhi, July 31 : The Centre on Tuesday said that the Army has been deployed to stop Rohingya Muslims' infiltration into the country and has also directed the states not to let them spread.
"The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Assam Rifles are deployed to stop further infiltration of the Rohingyas," Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour.
He also said he has issued an advisory to states to monitor those who have already infiltrated. "They have been asked to keep them in one place and not let them spread. States also have the right to deport them," Rajnath Singh said.
Trinamool Congress member Sugata Bose raised the issue that the Ministry of External Affairs is carrying out "Operation Insaniyat" (Operation Humanity) in Bangladesh while on the other hand it started the process of deportation of Rohingyas from the country.
"External Affairs Ministry is conducting operation insaniyat (humanity) for Rohingyas in Bangladesh. There are about 40,000 Rohingyas in India," Bose said.
"Will we show insaniyat for only those who are in Bangladesh?" Bose asked.
The Trinamool member also questioned whether the country was prepared to abide by all international law. He said it was the Indian tradition to give refuge to people.
Responding to Bose's remarks, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said: This is an unfortunate statement by him. India is probably the only country which has adopted such a soft approach to refugees.
He said that despite being not in the UN treaty to receive refugees, India has given shelter to millions. "Still, thousands of refugees are staying in India. India has been very soft towards immigrants but that doesn't mean that there will be no system to regularise it. Our priority is taking care of our citizens first," Rijiju said.
"Our government created refugee camps in Rakhine province. But instead of lauding the works of the government you are defaming the country," he said. It even offered help to Myanmar to assist in their resettlement.
"Rohingya population is highest in Jammu and Kashmir but they cannot be allowed to become a burden," the minister added.
Bharatiya Janata Party member Jugal Kishore Sharma alleged that in February the Sunjuwan army camp attackers came via Rohingya Muslims' houses in Jammu and Kashmir.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Union government assumes full control over TV ratings, TRAI role curtailed: Report
New Delhi: The Union government has assumed full control over television audience measurement, removing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from oversight of the ratings system that underpins the country’s ₹36,000 crore television advertising market, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report in Mint said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) now has exclusive authority over the framework governing how television ratings are measured and regulated. TRAI had been entrusted with oversight of TV ratings in 2012 during the UPA government’s tenure. TRAI is no longer mentioned in the relevant policy document, effectively vesting sole authority in the MIB.
The report said TRAI will continue to regulate other aspects of broadcasting, including channel pricing, advertising caps, interconnection and distribution norms, service quality and compliance standards. Its role in determining how ratings agencies track viewing behaviour has been withdrawn.
Television Rating Points (TRPs), which reflect viewership patterns, guide advertisers in deciding where to allocate spending across channels and time slots.
A government source quoted in the report said the ministry could modify TRAI’s decisions even when the regulator oversaw broadcasting.
A former CEO of Prasar Bharati told the newspaper that the MIB has historically regulated rating agencies through licensing and guidelines, and by holding them accountable under existing norms.
During its tenure overseeing ratings, TRAI had taken decisions affecting the broadcast sector, which included capping advertising time at 12 minutes per hour following complaints about excessive commercial breaks and it now remains unclear how these matters will be addressed under the revised arrangement.
Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, was quoted as saying that merging regulatory functions with policy oversight and removing an independent regulator from the process was a retrograde step.
TRAI’s involvement in broadcasting had earlier attracted criticism as well. In 2012, its consultation paper on quantitative limits on television advertising was viewed by some as overlapping with the Advertising Standards Council of India’s code. Subsequent recommendations covering television audience measurement, ownership of news channels and issues such as paid news had also raised concerns among sections of the industry.
Television ratings have faced scrutiny in recent years, including during the controversy involving the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where officials of the ratings body were prosecuted over allegations of manipulation of viewership data.
