'Modi shown 73 times during President Murmu's address...': Congress
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday alleged that during President Droupadi Murmu's address in the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received more screen time than the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. According to Ramesh, during the 51-minute address, Sansad TV—which is India's only parliamentary channel—showed PM Modi 73 times and Gandhi only six times. Notably, earlier too, the opposition alleged that the TV channel favors the government over its speakers.
Why does this story matter?
Launched on September 15, 2021, Sansad Television merged Lok Sabha Television (LSTV) and Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) into one dedicated channel. It broadcasts live proceedings from both Houses of Parliament and aims to "objectively showcase the various facets of democracy," according to a Lok Sabha handbook. However, the opposition has frequently alleged bias, claiming the channel favors government benches during their speeches. The Bharatiya Janata Party has maintained that it does not have any control on the broadcaster.
Sansad TV is for showing House proceedings: Ramesh
In a post on X, Ramesh said, ""Who was shown how many times in the 51-minute President's address? Leader of the House Narendra Modi: 73 times Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi: 6 times Government: 108 times Opposition: 18 times." "Sansad TV is for showing the proceedings of the House, not for the narcissism of camerajeevi," he added.
Opposition leader's past allegations against Sansad TV
In August 2023, after Congress leader Gandhi's speech on Manipur violence, the opposition accused Sansad TV of focusing on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for "71% of the time" during his speech. Later, Congress MPs wrote to the speaker, condemning the broadcaster's "shamefully partisan manner." Separately, Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale also wrote to Sansad TV's CEO, alleging the channel censors Rajya Sabha proceedings by focusing on government benches and ignoring the opposition.
President's first address after formation of new government
On Thursday, President Murmu addressed both Houses of Parliament for the first time since the 18th Lok Sabha was constituted. Criticizing the 1975 Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the President described it as the "darkest chapter of direct assault" on the Constitution. "My government does not consider the Constitution of India as just a medium of governance; rather we are making efforts to ensure that our Constitution becomes a part of public consciousness," the President said.
Kharge's response to President's address
Responding to the President's address, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on X, "Listening to the President's address written by the Modi Govt, it seemed as if Modi ji is in a perpetual state of denial! The mandate was against him...people...rejected his slogan of "400 plus" and kept the BJP away from the figure of 272." Congress leader Tariq Anwar said,"Several elections have been held since Emergency in which the BJP was defeated. They have nothing new to say."
