Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Centre has finally stepped into the controversy arising out of a racist remark made by the radio jockey of a Delhi-based FM channel against the Gorkha community.
On Saturday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry served a show-cause notice on the radio station, asking it to explain why action should not initiated against it for airing racist slur against the Gorkhas after Darjeeling boy Prashant Tamang was crowned ‘Indian Idol’ earlier this week.
The RJ, Jonathan Brady, who is popularly known as Nitin after a programme called Ulta Pulta Nitin that he used to host on some other FM channel, apparently commented in a live broadcast that “shopkeepers will now have to make their own security arrangements as Gorkhas have taken to singing.” The remark was made on his new programme, Khurafati Nitin on Red FM
The issue kicked up a row and sparked off a mass movement in the Darjeeling Hills, leading to violence in Siliguri on Thursday and general strikes in several places like Kalimpong and Sukna in the past three days.
A Gorkha delegation had moved Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and West Bengal Chief Minister Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, two days back, demanding stern action against the radio channel.
The West Bengal Government has also decided to take legal action against the FM channel and the radio jockey for the damaging remark.
And on Saturday, the I&B Ministry finally woke up to the controversy and served a show-cause notice on the radio channel.
“It has been brought to the notice of the government by the West Bengal government and others that the permission holder of FM radio broadcasting station in the city of Delhi namely M/s Digital Radio (Delhi) Broadcasting Limited in their FM Radio channel named Red FM being aired on 93.5 MHz has carried a programme on 24.9.2007 in which a Radio Jockey has made derogatory remarks about the Gorkha Community consequent upon the selection of Prashant Tamang as Indian Idol in a Sony television channel show,” the I&B notice read.
The I&B Ministry then cites para 11.2 of the Grant of Permission Agreement under which M/s Digital Radio (Delhi) Broadcasting Limited were supposed to follow the programme code of All India Radio which prohibits any programmes attacking communities, anything defamatory, incitement to violence and anything against law and order.
“From the sequence of events, it is prima facie evident that the remarks are in violation of the programme code of AIR and hence the permission holder has been given time till 1600 hours (IST) on October 1, 2007 to explain why action should not be taken against them,” the notice said.
Meanwhile, Red FM has apologised for the remark that led to violence and protests in Siliguri. In a statement released on Saturday, the channel said: "Our shows and RJs use humour and satire in their presentation. There is nothing deliberate or intentional in anything that they do. We have not intentionally caused hurt to the sentiments of any person or any particular community, caste or creed. However in the event any inadvertent slight or offence has been caused to the sentiments of any person or community, we tender our apology for the same.”
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