New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): Congress MP and former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Saturday said that the Centre could direct the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to withhold reporting Television Rating Points (TRPs) for news channels, exercising the powers granted by the policy guidelines drafted by the UPA government in 2014.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on Friday directed BARC to suspend the reporting of TRPs for news channels for four weeks or until further notice, citing concerns over sensationalism and speculative content in coverage related to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

In an X post, Manish Tewari said that before the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies, 2014, the television ratings industry was a 'wild west.'

'It is I who, as Minister @MIB_India, issued the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies after getting Cabinet approval on January 16, 2014. That is the power @MIB_India is exercising today, & mind you, this was opposed tooth and nail by the Industry including the then monopolist interests in that sector/ genre. Before that, there was no policy architecture for Television Ratings. It was the Wild West that unfortunately, it still is. & what you were approaching me for was something entirely different, i.e. to take @ptcnews and @FastwayCableTV off the air that I refused to do by resorting to an arbitrary exercise of Ministerial powers,' he wrote.

https://x.com/ManishTewari/status/2030055693026480405

This comes after the I&B Ministry cited concerns over 'unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content', which may create panic among the general public, particularly for those with friends and family in the affected regions and directed BARC to withhold TRPs for news channels.

The order references Clause 24.2 of the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India, which requires companies to comply with directions issued by the Ministry. Accordingly, BARC has been instructed to immediately withhold TRP reporting to ensure responsible dissemination of news.

Gaurishankar Kesarwani, Additional Director of BP&L, stated in the communication, 'In the public interest, the Ministry directs M/s BARC to immediately withhold reporting the Television Rating Points (TRPs) for News TV Channels for a period of four weeks or until further directions, whichever is earlier.'

The development comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory killed its Supreme Leader, Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. (ANI)