A new political debate has unfolded as the National broadcaster Doordarshan, in its latest move, has changed the colour of its historic flagship logo from red to saffron.
For past six months, rigorous efforts for a much-needed facelift was underway at DD News. Finally, taking it to the X handle, they made the final announcement in a post that read, "While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar."
"Get ready for a news journey like never before.. Experience the all-new DD News!" it added.
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Opposition allege 'saffronisation'
Slamming the Centre, Congress's Manish Tewari, a former Information and Broadcasting Minister from 2012 to 2014, alleged the move was a part of the Centre's attempt to capture government institutions.
"This is an attempt on the part of the government to saffronism and capture the government institutuins. The said move clearly undermines the neutrality and credibility of India's public broadcaster.", Tewari said, as per India Today.
The move also invited criticism from the Rajya Sabha and ex-CEO of Prasar Bharati (DD, AIR), Jawhar Sircar, who said he has been watching the national broadcaster's "saffronisation".
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"National broadcaster Doordarshan colours its historic flagship logo in saffron! As its ex-CEO, I have been watching its saffronisation with alarm and feel — it's not Prasar Bharati any more — it's Prachar Bharati!” (sic), he wrote on X.
Sircar further mentioned that the move just before elections would influence voters, by overlaying the colour one religion and Sangh parivar colour with a ‘neutral’ Public Broadcaster and a biassed Govt/Regime!
How did BJP defend the move?
Reacting against the 'saffronisation' allegations, BJP's Andhra Pradesh state vice-president Vishnu Vardhan Reddy said, "When Doordarshan was launched in 1959, it had a saffron logo. Now, as the government reintroduces the original logo, liberals and Congress are outraging over it."
"It's blatantly obvious they harbor hate against 'Bhagwa' and Hindus," (sic), he wrote on X.
Defending DD's move, the current CEO of Prasar Bharti, Gaurav Dwivedi, said that the new logo is a catchy orange colour. This is a change of visual aesthetic.
"The colour is orange, not saffron," he asserted.
"It is not just the logo that we have changed, the entire look and feel has been upgraded. It is incorrect and unfortunate that people are reading more into this. We were working on changing the look and feel of DD for the past six to eight months," he said.
