Govt. dismisses criticism on Convergence Bill

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 22. The Centre today defended the provision of content regulation in the proposed Communication Convergence Bill, cleared recently by the Group of Ministers on Telecom and IT, and brushed aside criticism by Opposition that it would usher ``pre- censorship''.

The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Information Technology, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, said here that the Bill had been listed for introduction in the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning tomorrow. It would herald a new communication order in the country converging IT, Telecom and Broadcasting.

The proposed Communication Commission of India (CCI) would have Content and Carriage bureaus, which would be independent of the Government. He said even though the Government appointed members of the regulatory body, it would have no control over their functioning. The Congress had charged that content regulation amounted to ``pre-censorship''.

The idea of content regulation was to check that anything not in national interest or offended the moral and social values did not find place.

With the Bill listed to be introduced, he said it was upto Parliament to discuss and debate every aspect before enacting legislation. Mr. Mahajan said in all probability, the Bill could be referred to the Standing Committee.

The idea behind convergence was to merge both Content and Carriage to facilitate use of technology for regulation of content, Mr Mahajan said. He was a member of the Group of Ministers that cleared the Bill.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Ram temple construction after Shivratri: VHP
Next     : `Indian claim on Pokhran test incorrect'