Gulam Nabi Azad equates Modi with Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
Shimla, May 16: Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad on Thursday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decisions to that of the controversial 14 century Delhi ruler Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.
Criticising the 2016 demonetisation move, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha alleged that Modi gave many 'Tughlaqi farman' (diktats) during his rule due to which common people suffered.
"Modi changed the currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 with new currency notes as Tughlaq had done by issuing currency of brass and copper during his rule," Azad told reporters.
Tughlaq, who ruled the Delhi Sultanate for a short period of time in the 14th century, was known for his controversial decisions like shifting the capital of the Sultanate from Delhi to Daulatabad and introducing non-precious metal currency.
"Modi withdrew Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes during demonetisation claiming that it will check black money but later he circulated Rs 2,000 currency notes, which was contradictory in itself," Azad said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister alleged that Modi took the decision of demonetisation "without getting the consent of the RBI governor and the cabinet".
Azad claimed that demonetisation and wrongly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) had adversely affected the economy, especially small and medium scale industries due to which over 4.5 crore people became jobless.
Talking about Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojna, he claimed that the insurance companies were benefited "to the tune of Rs 3000 crores from this scheme implemented by Modi government, while only 45 per cent farmers were covered under this scheme".
"I asked in Parliament if this scheme has been implemented for the benefit of farmers or for insurance companies, but Modi did not give any reply," he said.
Asked if it is appropriate to equate a democratically elected prime minister with Tughlaq, Azad replied, I have not equated Modi with Tughlaq. I just said Modi is like Tughlaq."
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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.
