Karnataka's leading news channel TV9 has run into trouble with the Karnataka government. According to a statement from the channel at around 10.30 pm on Monday, the channel has been taken off the air by several cable operators in the state, reportedly after a directive was issued by the state's energy minister DK Shivakumar.
Channel sources told media that they were to run a major expose against the Siddaramaiah government at 9.30pm in their prime time segment. The channel was taken off air, just before the program was to be aired.
When Hindustan Times tried to contact Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's office for their reaction, it was told that the CM has refused to react to the controversy.
However, president of the Karnataka State Cable Operatora Association (KSCOA), Patrick Raju, denied that the channel had been taken off air following pressure from the government.
"They carry too much news about Telugu films and focus a lot on the Telugu speaking population. We think their news is not relevant in Karnataka. They also carry negative news about cable operators often," he told HT.
The channel has been in a long-running dispute with the Telangana government, and was even threatened by chief minister K Chandraskehar Rao in September.
Source: Hindustan Times
