Doordarshan, AIR censor speeches by Yechury, G Devarajan; omit 'communal govt', 'Muslim'

New Delhi: The Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) have removed portions criticising the central government from election speeches of opposition leaders. The edits were made to the speeches of CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Forward Block leader G Devarajan.
References such as 'communal government,' 'jungle laws,' and 'Muslim' were omitted. This action aligns with directives from the Election Commission, Doordarshan officials said. Before recording the leaders' speeches, Doordarshan requested the removal of specific words. Yechury was also advised to refrain from using the term 'communal autocratic rule.'

"It's curious that they found no issue with the Hindi version of my speech, which was merely a translation of the original English. However, the English version was altered according to their instructions," said Sitaram Yechury. Devarajan said that his speech contained a line regarding discriminatory clauses in the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
"They instructed me to omit the word 'Muslim.' I argued that the term should be used to highlight discrimination against Muslims, as the Act refers to all other eligible minority communities. However, my request was denied," said Devarajan.