Balance sheets of media companies must be probed: BJP

Wednesday, 08 April 2009, 17:36 IST
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Panaji: Accusing the media of favouring the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Goa have asked for the statements of account of major news channels and newspapers to be checked for large sums being allegedly paid by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for advertisements in the run up to the elections. Speaking at a public gathering organised by the lobby group Friends of the BJP here Tuesday night, leader of opposition in the state assembly Manohar Parrikar and the party's national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad lambasted the media for "selling out to the Congress". "There should be a probe of the balance sheets of all major news channels and media organisations, which have reported profits after the Congress government sponsored the advertising campaign. Thanks to these ads, several news channels that were in the red earlier have started showing profits. This must be probed," Parrikar said. Commenting on the media scenario in Goa, Parrikar said that most newspapers in the state were struggling to make ends meet and yet were priced at less than a quarter of the production cost. "This only shows that they (newspapers) survive on advertising revenue. Everything rests on money in the media," he claimed. Prasad went a step further, saying that the English media, especially the English news channels, "reeked of bias in favour of the Congress". "Do not go by what the English channels say. The Hindi media does not have much of a bias," said the former minister for information and broadcasting. "Why is the English media not highlighting Jagdish Tytler being let off by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) with the same vehemence as they keep reporting the Gujarat riots and the aftermath?" he asked.
Source: IANS
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