Mumbai, Jan 07: The Broadcasting Council Bill, which envisages setting up of an independent regulatory authority to monitor obscenity and vulgarity projected through broadcasting medium, would be tabled in parliament during the coming budget session, Union minister for information and broadcasting Sushma Swaraj said today. “The detailed provisions of the Bill are yet to be finalised though the general concept is ready,” Swaraj said while addressing the Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar function here.
The need for the Broadcasting Council Bill arose as the setting up of a committee for the much-talked about Convergence Bill had been delayed for past two years, she said.
“When I found that the setting up of the commission for drafting of the Convergence Bill was taking too long, I approached the Prime Minister and pressed for the Broadcasting Council Bill to tackle the numerous complaints relating to obscenity in the media,” the minister said.
Recounting the criticism when she first took up the issue of obscenity in the media and demanded closing down FD channel and scrapping two vulgar advertisements, Swaraj said “at that time I was heaped with the sobriquet cultural police woman. However, today these very detractors have come forward urging me for a urgent measures to nip vulgarity in media.”
Welcoming the change in attitude, she said her detractors had realised the adverse consequences of such entertainment channels during the last two years. “My intention in scrapping such channels had been based on a concern for deteriorating social and moral values following an unrestricted exposure to such media,” Swaraj added. Bureau Report