MNS asks Prasar Bharati to air only Marathi programmes on DD Sahyadri TV channel

Thackeray made the demand in a letter addressed to Neeraj Agrawal, additional director general (western region) of Doordarshan here. "DD Sahyadri channel, founded on August 15, 1994, is likely to telecast all of its programs in the Marathi language. However, we have noticed that this channel telecasting programmes in other languages," it said.

Mumbai:Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday demanded that state-run Prasar Bharati should telecast only Marathi language programmes on its regional television channel DD Sahyadri. DD Sahyadri is Prasar Bharati's Marathi-language channel dedicated to bringing infotainment and educational TV programmes to audiences across Maharashtra.

Thackeray made the demand in a letter addressed to Neeraj Agrawal, additional director general (western region) of Doordarshan here. "DD Sahyadri channel, founded on August 15, 1994, is expected to telecast all of its programs in the Marathi language. However, we have noticed that this channel telecasting programmes in other languages," it said.

"We have received several complaints regarding the same from the audience of the channel. It has been also noticed that guests invited to speak in some programmes, like interviews or discussions, can speak in the Hindi language. This is against the foundation of this channel," the letter said.

Thackeray also cautioned the officials saying, "Kindly consider our demand and take necessary actions, otherwise the MNS will take appropriate steps to address the problem."

The leader also said that there was no dearth of people who have excelled in the fields of cooking, cinema, music, or any other sectors and they can speak Marathi very well. The DD Sahyadri can always conduct programs in Marathi inviting them to its shows, he said.

Thackeray also made a reference to how local DD channels and other private channels from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala are particular about their respective regional languages.