Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that he would convey the concerns of the media about the one-day ban on NDTV to the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister and added that he would also request that reasons behind the action should be conveyed to the media.
I will convey your apprehensions and worries to the Information and Broadcasting Minister. But I feel that this issue has something to do with security. Therefore, they I will also tell them that the reasons behind it should be conveyed to the media," Parrikar said, while speaking during a media event in the state capital.
Parrikar was asked by a reporter to comment on the one-day ban on national news channel NDTV India, for purportedly revealing sensitive information while broadcasting a story on the Pathankot terror attack.
"The last government had issued an order that live terror operations should not be broadcast... after the 2008 incident. If you show it live, then terrorists can get information and their handlers provide that information. It appears that guideline was violated by giving live operational details of Pathankot. It appears," Parrikar also said.
The Defence minister later said that the action against NDTV India was not a ban, but that the news channel had been "temporarily up off the air".
"The information I have (is) that because a live operation was shown, because of security concerns, the issue was raised. 21 such incidents have occurred over the last five years during which channels were penalized for different reasons," Parrikar said.