The controversy on the subject began when a TV channel, ‘Live India’, staged a fake sting operation involving a Delhi schoolteacher, Uma Khurana, alleging that she was involved in forcing some of her girl students into prostitution, which had led to violent protests against the teacher.

“While hearing the case, the Delhi High Court had observed that before airing any sting operation in future, the tapes will need clearance from the I&B ministry,” said Dasmunsi. He repeatedly advocated the need for a self-regulatory body to govern the conduct of the electronic media. “But it is unfortunate that some big shots are opposing the idea of any sort of regulation,” he added.

The minister said it had come to his notice that a prominent national TV channel was evading taxes to the tune of thousands of crores by downlinking the feed to Hong Kong and then transmitting it back to India.

“The authenticity of content designed for market-driven forces has to be verified. Inauthentic news should be opposed by all,” Dasmunsi said, the discerning audience don’t care for such “juicy stories.”

In this connection, he also severely criticised the TRP rating mechanism. Most of the channels, he said, exclude rural India from the purview of the rating, and hence, the system is not transparent.

“We have just finished the second round of talks regarding the TRP system in India. Now I will be going to Mumbai for the third round of talks. We are hopeful that something would materialise by the budget session,” said Dasmunsi at another meeting organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI).