No-trust motion: Is Sansad TV giving less screen time to Opposition leaders?

Today (10 August) is the culmination of the debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Narendra Modi-led Central government. The previous two days of the debate saw sharp exchanges in Parliament between the Opposition INDIA alliance and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

But it was not just speeches or “gestures” inside the Houses that had both the ruling and Opposition blocs up in arms. Sansad TV, India’s only parliamentary channel, has come into focus in the last two days of the debate the on no-trust motion.

The Congress and its INDIA ally Trinamool Congress (TMC) have accused the public broadcaster of giving less screen time to Opposition leaders. Let’s take a closer look at the charge in detail.

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‘Less than 40% screen time’

The Congress alleged on Wednesday (9 August) that the Sansad TV camera showed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla most of the time when Rahul Gandhi was addressing the House.

After the newly-reinstated Wayanad MP completed his speech in Lok Sabha, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to raise the issue.

Gandhi spoke for 37 minutes during the debate on the no-confidence motion, but he got less than 40 per cent screen time, alleged Ramesh.

He wrote, “In his first speech after coming back from the unjustified disqualification, Rahul Gandhi spoke from 12:09 pm to 12:46 pm i.e. 37 minutes during the No-Confidence Motion. Out of which the Sansad TV camera showed him for ONLY 14 mins 37 seconds. That’s less than 40 per cent screen time! What is Mr Modi afraid of?”

Ramesh further claimed that when Gandhi was speaking on the Manipur issue, Sansad TV’s camera focused on Birla 71 per cent of the time.

“This gets even worse! Rahul Gandhi spoke on Manipur for 15 min 42 seconds. During which, Sansad TV’s camera focused on the Speaker Om Birla for 11 min 08 seconds i.e. 71 per cent of the time. Sansad TV showed Rahul Gandhi on video for only 4 min 34 seconds while he spoke on Manipur,” Rajya Sabha MP Ramesh said.

According to a Newslaundry report, Gandhi spoke for 37 minutes, however, he was displayed on the Sansad TV screen for around 15 minutes.

On the other hand, Union minister Smriti Irani, who also addressed Lok Sabha on Wednesday, remained in focus the majority of the time. Irani spoke for 53 minutes and 30 seconds, with the Sansad TV camera showing her for 50 minutes and 8 seconds, reported Newslaundry. During her speech, the focus shifted to Speaker Birla for around two minutes, and only a few times on the House and other lawmakers, the report added.

Congress MP TN Prathapan said he has flagged the issue to Lok Sabha Speaker Birla and sought action against Sansad TV officials. He said in his letter that the state broadcaster “cannot be a tool for government propaganda” and it is “grossly unfair, undemocratic and against all ethical codes of Sansad TV, which is supposed to be neutral”.

TMC hits out at Sansad TV

TMC MP Mahua Moitra also accused Sansad TV of not giving screen time to Opposition INDIA leaders when they speak in Parliament, calling the action “petty and shameful”.

“Everyone see how they focus non stop on all BJP speakers during No confidence debate but only focus on Chairperson whenever INDIA speakers are on. @KanimozhiDMK not shown but Heena Gavit full focus. Petty & shameful- you are funded by taxpayer money,” she wrote on X, tagging Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.

Heena Gavit is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Maharashtra’s Nandurbar constituency.

On 2 August, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said he has written to Sansad TV CEO Rajit Punhani over the channel “brazenly and exclusively” focusing on the treasury or government benches and “completely blacking out any footage of the Opposition benches” during the proceedings of Upper House.

He said that Sansad TV is a public broadcaster and is “required to be non-partisan and broadcast equal coverage on live TV” to both sides. “To focus only on the government benches while completely blacking out footage of Opposition benches raises questions of bias and partisanship”, Gokhale said in his letter.

Ticker row

On Tuesday, Opposition leaders caused an uproar in Lok Sabha over Sansad TV running scrolls on the Central government’s achievements during the debate on the no-confidence motion.

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According to Newslaundry, over 20 minutes after Gogoi, who initiated the no-trust debate instead of Gandhi on Tuesday, started his address questioning the government over the Manipur crisis, tickers on Sansad TV started listing government schemes or achievements.

As the matter came to light, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury reportedly alleged it was a “pre-decided move”. “They [government] thought Rahul Gandhi would move the motion on no confidence. This is why they scheduled such a ticker. This was only to belittle him. Gaurav Gogoi’s speech was a googly for them,” he was quoted as saying by ABP News.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi took a potshot at the Opposition, saying it “should not be so insecure”. He claimed such tickers are usually displayed on Sansad TV during parliamentary proceedings.

While Speaker Birla dismissed the Opposition’s allegations, he took cognisance of the complaint, and the tickers exhibiting government achievements were stopped later.

With inputs from agencies