TV truth comes under scrutiny in parliament

After Sony TV’s serial on child marriage, Balika Vadhu, it is the turn of Star Plus’ Sach ka Saamna to face the ire of parliamentarians.

Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Kamal Akhtar accused the producers of the reality show on Wednesday of obscenity, saying the deeply-personal questions asked on the programme were “against Indian culture”.

“In this particular series, a woman was asked in the presence of her husband whether she has had physical contact with other men. When she said no, polygraph said the answer was wrong. Imagine the impact this would have on the woman’s husband,” he said, adding, “These programmes border on the obscene and are against Indian culture.”

Akhtar was supported by other party MPs and BJP members.

Senior BJP leader SS Ahluwalia said a regulatory board for reality shows, or new-age TV shows, should be set up.  

The ruckus over TV serials went on for quite a while with Kyun ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Balika Vadhu coming in for special criticism. “These serials say they are against social evils, but glorify child marriage, instead,” Akhtar said.

So vehement was the protest that deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha K Rehman Khan asked minister of state for parliamentary affairs Prithviraj Chavan whether a structured debate could be held on the matter.