Broadcast bill only an improvement over the existing one : Congres

New Delhi, July 3 (UNI) The Congress Party today sought to downplay the controversy over the Broadcast Content Regulation bill, saying that "it is still at a proposal stage." Asked about the reports that the bill was aimed at curbing the freedom of the electronic media to choose their broadcast content, AICC spokesman Abishek Manu Singhvi told mediapersons here that it was still a proposal and that it was not cleared by the Union Cabinet or the Parliament.

''The entire proposal already existed in a lesser form,''he said, adding that the effort was to bring forward a holistic and consolidated broadcast bill.

Dr Singhvi said many of the provisions ''Exists now or existed for a longer time.'' He said the penal provisions envisaged in the bill were residuary in nature and to be used as a last resort when there was persistent default.

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