Amidst the ongoing political turmoil between India and Nepal, Nepal resorted to putting a ban on all private Indian news channels, barring the state-owned Doordarshan News on Thursday, July 9 2020.
Multi-system operators (MSOs) such as Mega Max, DSN, Dish Home, and My TV decided to stop broadcasting Indian news channels after some of them gave way to alleged derogatory propaganda about Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The move came after the former Deputy Prime Minister and Spokesperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Narayan Kaji Shrestha said, “the baseless propaganda by Indian Media against the Nepal government and our PM should stop.”
The differences between the two countries intensified after Kathmandu issued a new political map incorporating the Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. There had also been an incident at the India-Nepal border wherein one person from Bihar had been killed and two others injured after a confrontation with the Nepal police took a violent turn. Moreover, Nepal has also stopped the repair work of river embankments in Bihar along the border.
Members of the Nepalese leadership have demanded PM KP Sharma Oli’s resignation after he accused India of targeting his government. Sharing the screenshot of a caricature of Prime Minister Oli that was posted by a publication, Kamal Thapa tweeted, “We have serious differences with PM @kpsharmaoli on many issues, including his conduct of international relations. But deliberate/sustained campaign of mudslinging against PM Oli by some Indian Media cannot be acceptable. That doesn’t do Nepal-India relations any good.”
We have serious differences with PM @kpsharmaoli on many issues, including his conduct of international relations.
But deliberate/sustained campaign of mudslinging against PM Oli by some Indian media cannot be acceptable.That doesn't do Nepal-India relations any good. pic.twitter.com/bdJMN80y5Y— Kamal Thapa (@KTnepal) July 9, 2020
This is for the second time that Nepal has blacked out the Indian media. It happened in 2015 as well after a blockade at the India-Nepal border.
