War of words in Kerala assembly over Sabarimala gold row; UDF announces non-cooperation
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The ruling LDF and the opposition UDF engaged in an intense war of words in the Kerala Assembly over the Sabarimala gold loss case and the arrest of Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru as the House reconvened after a brief break on Monday.
As soon as the question hour began, the Congress-led opposition informed Speaker A N Shamseer that they would not cooperate with the House proceedings due to the government's stand on various matters related to Sabarimala, including the gold loss case and the women's entry issue.
Raising slogans and holding placards demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, the UDF members staged a protest in front of the Speaker's podium. Later, they squatted in the well of the House and continued sloganeering.
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In the absence of Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, who is away as part of his ongoing "Navayuga Yatra", senior Congress legislator K Babu informed the House of their stand.
He flagged the grant of bail to the accused in the case and strongly criticised the government over the arrest of Tantri (chief priest) without any iota of evidence.
"The Tantri was imprisoned for 40 days, as he had not favoured the government stand supporting the violation of rituals at Sabarimala," Babu alleged, referring to the women's entry issue in 2018.
He further pointed out that the alleged irregularities happened at the Global Ayyappa Sangamam organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) with the support of the government.
The Tripunithura MLA also accused the government of adopting a "suspicious stand" in the women's entry issue when the matter was taken up by the Supreme Court again recently.
"Because of the government's stand in these matters, we have not been cooperating with the House proceedings for some time. Today also we will not cooperate," he added.
However, Law Minister P Rajeev and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh strongly rejected the UDF charges.
Rajeev said the opposition's remarks were against the observation of the High Court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the Sabarimala gold loss case was progressing in the right direction.
"The UDF is continuing their agitation even after the High Court made it clear that the probe is progressing in the right direction. So, the protest is with a clear political agenda," he alleged.
Referring to the Ayodhya temple matter, the minister alleged that the Congress has paved the way for the BJP to use Hindutva and temple politics.
Though the BJP and the Congress have different names, both parties now represent the same politics and ideology, which is a threat to the secularism of Kerala, he said.
Rajeev said it is completely a High Court-monitored probe and the investigation report is being submitted to the court in a sealed cover and the government has no role in it.
The opposition's allegations were against the High Court, and so it should be removed from the Assembly records, he added.
Minister Rajesh also vehemently criticised the Congress-led UDF over its support extended to Tantri and said the chief priest had no more privilege than the other accused in the case.
He also alleged that the opposition was expecting a "golden opportunity" to take agitation to the streets again in the name of Sabarimala tantri.
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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.
