Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai has condemned the reported removal of three news channels from the Tamil Nadu government cable television broadcast.
In a statement, he said Polimer News, News Tamil 24x7 and Tamil Janam News appear to have been taken off the government cable network. The stoppage has reportedly been attributed to pending dues the government cable operator owes a set-top box company.
Questioning the explanation, Annamalai asked why other media outlets were not affected if the issue was purely related to payments. He alleged the move looked like retaliation, claiming the channels had been consistently reporting on public issues such as power cuts and what he described as administrative shortcomings.
He said blocking news is not a solution in a democracy and called the development a “wrong trend”. Annamalai urged the state government to immediately restore the channels on the government cable platform.
The report also said condemnation was voiced by opposition leader Udhayanidhi, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran.
