New Delhi: India’s public service broadcaster Doordarshan platformed Navnath Ban, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra ‘media cell’, as a non-partisan journalist to interview Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis soon after he was sworn in on December 5, 2024.
Right to Information replies by Doordarshan to The Wire say that Ban was allowed to interview the chief minister – and paid for it – as part of its “talent/artist” booking system”.
“Doordarshan has the Talent/artist booking system which can book various performing artists as per the fee structure, and thus under the guidelines of Talent booking system Shri Navnath Ban was booked as an interviewer for the interview,” Doordarshan said in its RTI replies.
The interview conducted by Ban of Fadnavis was also one of the first that the new chief minister gave to any media platform after he was sworn in on December 5, 2024. As expected, the nearly 18-minute interview lacked any semblance of neutrality and appeared to be a promotional interview for the BJP and the Mahayuti alliance.
मा.मुख्यमंत्री श्री. देवेंद्र फडणवीस यांची मुख्यमंत्रीपदाची शपथ घेतल्यानंतरची पहिली विशेष मुलाखत…
यूट्यूब लिंक..https://t.co/Kteq2lnBgc
▶️Doordarshan Sahyadri@Dev_Fadnavis @MahaDGIPR @PIBMumbai @MyGovMarathi pic.twitter.com/Enj8Uzl9n9— Doordarshan Sahyadri (@DDSahyadri) December 6, 2024
The Wire’s RTI and responses by Doordarshan
On December 6, Ban’s interview with Fadnavis was broadcast at 6:30 pm on the DD Sahyadri channel, which operates under Prasar Bharati.
Shortly after the interview, The Wire filed an RTI request to Prasar Bharati, asking:
- Is Navnath Ban an employee of DD Sahyadri? If yes, what is his designation and other related details?
- If Navnath Ban is not an employee of DD Sahyadri, do the rules of the government channel allow for an external individual to conduct an interview with the chief minister? If so, what are the rules governing such arrangements?
The interviewer for this programmon the government-run Doordarshan Sahyadri channel was Navnath Ban. The Navnath Ban is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and serves as the President of the Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State Media Cell.
In response, Prasar Bharati said that Ban is not an employee of Doordarshan Sahyadri channel.
It said it booked Ban as an interviewer through its “talent/artist (sic)” booking system.
It is unclear what kind of talent or artist Ban was considered to be and why there was no one deemed qualified within the Doordarshan Sahayadri ranks to conduct this interview.
Maharashtra is home to numerous well-known and skilled journalists who are experts in various fields. In such a situation, the choice of a BJP functionary to conduct a key interview stands out.
The question also arises whether Doordarshan Sahyadri officials were aware of Ban’s BJP ties or not.
Who is Navnath Ban?
Ban does have a background in journalism, having worked as a journalist for nearly 10 years with the Marathi news channel ABP Majha.
On January 16, 2023, Ban officially joined the BJP and was appointed its Maharashtra media chief.
After his induction, Fadnavis had congratulated Ban in a video message and welcomed him to the party. He has been a visible presence in the BJP’s programmes and is considered close to Fadnavis and BJP Maharashtra president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
भाजपचे राष्ट्रीय अधिवेशन २०२४ नवी दिल्ली येथे सुरू आहे. त्याची क्षणचित्रे pic.twitter.com/RaleR5qFTq
— Navnath Kamal Uttamrao Ban (@NavnathBanBJP) February 18, 2024
When Ban conducted the interview with Fadnavis on December 6, he was still in the BJP Maharashtra ‘media cell’.
This interview began with Ban praising Fadnavis, highlighting the Mahayuti’s resounding success in the assembly elections and commending Fadnavis’s leadership.
During the 18-minute interview, Ban asked Fadnavis questions about Mumbai’s infrastructure, development projects, and plans for the city. Fadnavis discussed topics such as traffic, housing, and redevelopment projects, including the controversial Dharavi redevelopment plan.
After the 12th minute, the interview took a political turn. Ban raised questions about the Mahayuti’s victory in the assembly elections and addressed allegations from the opposition regarding electronic voting machines and demands for elections to be conducted via ballot paper.
There was little by way of neutrality from Ban, as an interviewer.
Ban also gave the miss to issues like farmer’s suicides, the government’s plans for agriculture, unemployment, education development, youth problems, women’s safety, and the law and order situation in Maharashtra.
After the interview was broadcast, it was shared across various social media platforms.
Ban ‘pinned’ posts on this interview on his Facebook and X social media handles – ensuring they were at the top of his handles.
मुख्यमंत्री झाल्यानंतर मा. देवेंद्रजी फडणवीस यांची पहिली मुलाखत घेण्याची संधी दूरदर्शन सह्याद्री वाहिनीवर मिळाली. वेळ काढून ही मुलाखत नक्की ऐका
देवाभाऊंचं व्हिजन
महाराष्ट्र मिशन!https://t.co/DepJJNAxaO pic.twitter.com/aBmCZ9vfNv— Navnath Kamal Uttamrao Ban (@NavnathBanBJP) December 6, 2024
Fadnavis also shared clips of the interview on his official X handle, while the Office of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra reposted it from its own account.
Additionally, the official X handle of Maharashtra BJP shared several video clips from the interview, tagging both Fadnavis and Ban.
Former Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawhar Sircar said that such partisan action could land the Prasar Bharati in trouble if someone was to go to court, invoking the Prasar Bharati Act.
“The public broadcasting aspect of Doordarshan has completely disappeared. In this interview, both individuals belong to the same party, essentially turning Doordarshan’s platform into a tool for BJP’s political agenda. The question arises, if tomorrow in Maharashtra, a Shiv Sena (UBT) government comes to power in Maharashtra, would a similar interview be conducted on Doordarshan? Would they invite the editor of Saamna to interview Uddhav Thackeray?” Sircar asked.
