TMC names spokespersons to stop TV channels from inviting unauthorised persons to represent the party

The Trinamool Congress today issued a press statement to mention the party leaders who had been chosen to represent the party as “approved national spokespersons”.

The statement, issued by party MP and spokesperson Derek O’Brien, said that “We have noticed that some channels are inviting guests on shows and referring to them as Trinamool supporters, sympathisers etc. We do not subscribe to this.”

Derek O’Brien, Sudip Bandopadhyay, Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Mahua Moitra and Dinesh Trivedi have been named national spokespersons for the party.

The party chief Mamata Banerjee has often observed on television channels that people with no connection to the party are invited to speak on behalf of the Trinamool Congress and some of them are ridiculed on air and are used to show the party in poor light. After the Lok Sabha poll results, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) breathing down its neck, the Trinamool Congress has now taking a number of measures to work out a quick turnaround.

With allegations of the ruling party being favoured by a majority of television channels – both nationally and at state-levels – a number of political parties are reworking their policy for the media.

The Congress leadership has recently issued a month-long nationwide ban on its leaders taking part in television debates. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had posted a message on Twitter asking media channels to “not place Congress representatives on their shows”.

The month-long ban was to give themselves time for sorting out internal issues. The party later clarified that the decision had been reversed only for Kerala.

The Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (Secular) too have banned their spokespersons from appearing on TV. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had sacked all those who acted as the party’s spokespersons on TV channels. JD(S) had also asked its spokespersons to not give any statement to the media, nor participate in television debates.