Chennai Doordarshan Asst Director suspended after Modi event?
By Newsmeter Network Published on 2 Oct 2019 2:15 PM GMT
Chennai: Call it a surprise when an order was issued by Prasar Bharati to suspend Chennai Doordarshan Kendra Assistant Director (Programme) Vasumathi last night. Sources say that she was suspended for not telecasting live Narendra Modi's Singapore Hackathon event in IIT Madras on Monday. The government-owned channel did, however, live telecast the IIT-Madras convocation.
According to the order, Vasumathi has been placed under suspension with immediate effect. She shall be in Chennai, and she shall not leave the headquarters without obtaining the prior permission of Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharti, Shashi Shekar Vempat.
Speaking to NewsMeter, sources said that Vasumathi contacted Prasar Bharti seeking clarification on whether to air that particular event live for it was organised as part of Make in India and Skill India. She felt that with by-elections for Nanguneri and Vikravandi around the corner, it would lead to violation of poll conduct if aired live. Since no proper instructions were passed on to her, she chose to telecast live only the convocation. Elections would take place on October 21 and filing of nominations is also complete. The tenure of her suspension is also not mentioned.
