Revision as of 13:58, 16 May 2018

Controversies

2014-18

Irani courted controversy repeatedly, May 15, 2018: The Times of India

Days after she drew the ire of the Rashtrapati Bhawan over the controversy that broke out at the National Film Awards, Union minister Smriti Irani was divested of the charge of the crucial information and broadcasting ministry.

A controvery’s child since she assumed charge of the I&B ministry in July 2017, Irani has been at the centre of rows on multiple occasions, much like her stint as Union human resource development minister.

The controversy over the National Film Awards, widely regarded as bureaucratic mishandling, broke out when officials of the I&B ministry sought to blame the Rashtrapati Bhawan for a last-minute change in programme that led to over 50 national awardees boycotting the annual gala. What added to the embarrassment was the clarification issued by the President’s House that any claim that the President’s programme was decided at the “eleventh hour” was wrong.

Of the 125 recipients this year, the President distrubuted awards to only 11. The I&B ministry only informed award winners about the break in tradition and the change in programme on the evening prior to the event.

In March too, Irani had courted controvery over an order on ‘fake news’. The ministry’s order said journalists accused of being purveyors of fake news would lose their accreditation as soon as a complaint was made, and even before charges were proven. The order, which drew widespread criticism from the media and civil society, was revoked less than 24 hours after it was issued on the PMO’s intervention.

Even before the dust settled on the ‘fake news’ row, Irani announced her ministry’s decision to constitute a committee to frame rules to regulate news portals and media websites, once again leading to concerns over attempts to gag free press.

The most public spat, though, and one that caused considerable embarrassment to the government, was Irani’s persistently unpleasant exchange with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. The impasse began late last year when Irani decided to implement recommendations by the Sam Pitroda-led committee to make Prasar Bharati a leaner organisation.

Among other suggestions to cut the flab, Irani’s ministry recommended the sacking, with immediate effect, of all contractual staff, a move that was resisted and rejected by Prasar Bharati chairman Surya Prakash. The ministry then went on to stop the release of funds to the broadcaster, leading PB to pay salaries from its own contingency funds. This too became a subject matter of discussion within the government and in Parliament, forcing the government to eventually release the funds to PB.