Rathore speaks out on CBFC corruption charges

New Delhi: Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in an exclusive interview to NewsMobile refuted all charges of interference in Censor Board’s functioning levelled by its former Chairperson Leela Samson.

This comes after Samson resigned, blaming the state-run CBFC of “corruption and coercion” which was followed by other members resignations. Rathore dismissed the claims and said they should instead be warranted with proof.

The highly decorated army official, Colonel Rathore, also spoke of his plans for good governance and the reforms he wanted to bring in.

The Olympic Games Silver Medallist joined BJP in 2013 after resigning from the Army.

Rathore fought the Lok Sabha elections from Jaipur (Rural) seat and defeated Congress General Secretary CP Joshi by a margin of 1,50,000 votes to make his dream debut as a lawmaker in the Parliament.

Just over a month after being sworn in as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Rathore found himself surrounded by controversy.

Censor Board Chief Leela Samson’s resignation followed by nine other members shook the headlines. 

Commenting on the issue, Rathore told NewsMobile,“The ministry has always kept an arms distance from the Censor Board’s decisions and its certification process. The Censor board is an independent body and it should behave like one.”

Elaborating on the issue of coercion, Rathore asked the former chairperson to produce evidence for taking action.

“The Chairperson talks about coercion but we, as the government, would like to see the message, or the letter where she or any other member has been coerced. Then we would take appropriate action” Rathore said.

Discussing his plans with NewsMobile for Prasar Bharti and its much needed re-invention, Rathore said,“We are trying to improve the content of Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR), whereas Doordarshan and AIR are also trying its best to enhance the quality of programmes day by day. Recently Doordarshan has enhanced the rates for the episodes and the programmes.”