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Ordinance on match telecast planned?

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 10. Faced with the possibility of a majority of Indians being unable to watch the India-Pakistan cricket series beginning in Pakistan later this week because Doordarshan has not secured the telecast rights, the Government is apparently toying with the idea of promulgating an ordinance to mandate that events of national importance also be given to the public broadcaster as is the law in many a country.

The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Ravi Shankar Prasad, met the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, late this evening purportedly to discuss the issue and explore the possibility of promulgating such an ordinance and its ramifications as the model code of conduct has come into force.

However, with the Madras High Court slated to pronounce its judgment in the public interest petition seeking judicial intervention to ensure that terrestrial telecast rights are made available to Doordarshan, Ministry officials were tightlipped about what transpired at the meeting.

Earlier, soon after the court hearing, the Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer, K.S. Sarma, met Mr. Prasad and senior Ministry officials to take stock of the situation.

An ordinance was the last resort, Ministry sources said, maintaining that they would continue to try to persuade Ten Sports — which has the global radio and television rights of the series — to give Doordarshan telecast rights of the first India-Pakistan cricket engagement in Pakistan in 14 years.

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