Independence Day speech blocked by DD, AIR, Tripura CM alleges
. "This is thoroughly undemocratic, authoritarian and curtailment of freedom of speech," Sarkar told NDTV.
National broadcaster Prasar Bharati, the controlling authority of both Dordarshan and All India Radio, reportedly sent a letter to the Left-run Tripura Government, stating that the Chief Minister's speech "may not go with its existing content", unless it was reworked to make it suitable to the occasion.
"This actually happened during the Emergency," Sarkar has been quoted as saying.
"Independence Day is a day for introspection. Every citizen has the right to review to assess to identify the areas of achievement, areas of failure and gaps and also to find out the ways and means how to overcome these gaps, this is what I have done. It may appear that the policy of central government is being criticised, so what is wrong there?" he added.
In a press statement, the Tripura Government has alleged that Doordarshan and AIR recorded Sarkar's speech three days before Independence Day. But the letter seeking a change in it arrived at the Chief Minister's office only in Monday morning.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "instructing his cronies to black out voices" of the opposition.
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