Prasar Bharati threatens to cancel PTI's subscription over Chinese envoy interview: Report

Prasar Bharati, which comprises the state-owned Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, claimed a recent news coverage by PTI was "detrimental to national interest while undermining India’s territorial integrity", reports The Hindu.

Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong told India's largest news agency PTI in the interview: "The incident [Galwan Valley] was completely instigated by the Indian side and the responsibility does not lie with the Chinese side. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our position and opinion."

The interview posted on the website of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi has been slammed for appearing like a propaganda content of China with no caustic questions apparently thrown at the envoy amid nationwide outrage over the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers.

However, PTI told ThePrint in defence: “Interviews with newsmakers are routine business for media organisations during which a range of questions are asked. Some of the comments make news. It is clear that the one-sided criticism of the PTI interview has been generated by the truncated version put out by the Chinese Embassy.”

Sources told The Hindu that Prasar Bharati has sent a strongly-worded letter to the Chairman of PTI Board, Vijay Kumar Chopra, conveying it’s “deep displeasure”.

The letter has said that PTI’s reporting — which is "not in national interest" — makes it no longer tenable to continue the relationship and a final call on the subject will be taken by the Prasar Bharati soon, reported The Hindu.

In the interview, the Chinese envoy squarely blamed India for the Galwan Valley carnage where Indian soldiers were attacked by the Chinese troops in a lethal manner not behove of any professional army.

Amid worldwide condemnation of China, India earlier said it “has never undertaken any actions across the LAC" and "all infrastructure built by the Indian side is naturally on its own side of the LAC."

India's external affairs ministry said that it was the Chinese side that attempted to transgress the LAC in other areas of the western sector of the India-China border areas since mid-May.

"These attempts were invariably met with an appropriate response from us," MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

“Since early May 2020, the Chinese side has been hindering India's normal, traditional patrolling pattern in this area," Srivastava said adding that “this had resulted in a face-off which was addressed by the ground commanders as per the provisions of the bilateral agreements and protocols."

The Press Trust of India Ltd., or PTI, is a nonprofit cooperative of hundreds of Indian newspapers which subscribe to it. But a large portion of revenue of news agencies like PTI or UNI come from huge subscription money from Prasar Bharati. This huge payment to the news services is traditionally seen as a government support of the country's top news agency like PTI which is otherwise not a state-run media house.

According to its website, PTI employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India. 

PTI correspondents are also based in leading capitals and important business and administrative centres around the world. It also has exchange arrangements with several foreign news agencies to magnify its global news footprint.

PTI claims it commands 90 per cent of new agency market share in India.

PTI was registered in 1947 and started functioning in 1949.

Image: Chinese Embassy website Screenshot