Some of Zee Entertainment's popular television shows, including 'Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai', have landed into a controversy for promoting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) schemes ahead of Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has filed a complaint to the Election Commission against the makers of these popular entertainment serials for promoting schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Maharashtra unit of the Congress on Monday moved the EC alleging that these serials are being used to promote Prime Minister Modi's image in violation of code of conduct.
The Congress, in its complaint, asked the EC to register case against the BJP and also demanded to stop telecast of these serials.
Congress identified three serials 'Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain', 'Tujhse Hai Raabta' and 'Kundali Bhagya' in which the characters can be seen lauding PM Modi's flagship schemes, Swach Bharat Abhiyan, Ujjwala Gas Yojana, and Mudra Yojana.
On Sunday, Maharashtra Congress Sachin Sawant took to Twitter to announce the same and said, "Tomorrow on 8th April at 2.30 pm I will formally file a complaint before the Chief Electoral Officer of Election Commission of India against the channels and production teams of such serials who are deliberately and mischievously promoting".
The popular Hindi comedy serial 'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain', which airs on the Zee Entertainment Network's group of channel &TV, openly propagated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet schemes - the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Gas Yojana - in its recently aired episodes.
An excerpt of another show 'Tujhse Hai Raabta' shows the main characters promoting the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which encourages SME entrepreneurs to upscale their business by providing financial assistance.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has already sought response from the I&B Ministry over the recently- launched 'NaMo TV' (earlier called Content TV) after complaint was filed by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress.
NaMo TV that has the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the logo, airs his election speeches every day, and lists various policy initiatives taken by him. The channel is being hosted by all major DTH platforms.
Edited by Chitranjan Kumar