Kerala polls: Binoy Viswam boycotts Doordarshan programme after ‘censorship’ of parts critical of BJP

Communist Party of India (CPI) Kerala State secretary Binoy Viswam on Friday (March 27, 2026) accused Doordarshan of censoring a part of his election programme which was critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following this, the party decided to boycott the programme, said Mr. Viswam at a press conference here. He said Doordarshan “should not behave as the official mouthpiece of the BJP.”

Doordarshan’s series of election-related programmes is meant to provide an opportunity for the various political parties to put forward their electoral promises and stand on various issues. Mr. Viswam said that he had submitted a detailed note on the contents of his presentation on Thursday. However, before the recording on Friday, the officials there told him that the last two paragraphs of his presentation, which included criticism of the BJP had to be removed as per the recommendations of the vetting committee.

In the part which was removed, he had accused the BJP of dividing people on communal lines and spreading hatred against specific communities. Those who are victims of such communal attacks do not get the protection of the law in BJP-ruled States, while the perpetrators are given all protection. However, the situation in Kerala is starkly different to this, as per the part of the presentation which was removed.

“I had provided the text of the programme in advance. The censoring of parts of the text was carried out as per the BJP’s instructions. I decided to boycott the programme as the CPI does not intend to speak what the BJP wants to be spoken. The BJP has turned the Doordarshan and Akashavani into platforms to propagate just ‘His Master’s Voice’,” alleged Mr. Viswam.