New Delhi: In the face of mounting protests against the controversial bid of a private media group to take over United News of India (UNI), the Government on Monday said it would examine the whole affair.
Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said that the Government has proposed to the Board of Directors of the news agency to postpone "by one month" its scheduled meeting on Tuesday to ratify the deal giving majority stake to the media house.
Dasmunsi said he has called a meeting later on Monday with Chairman of the UNI Board Manoj Santhalia and head of the Essel Group, Subhash Chandra Goyal, which has made the takeover bid, to discuss the issue.
''I will report back to the Prime Minister on the issue after the meeting,'' Dasmunsi said.
The Minister said the Government had the right to intervene in the matter under Section 25 of the Companies Act under which a company is created for a public cause and the Government allots land free of cost.
Several political parties, including the Left parties, had written letters to the PM urging him to abort the deal to protect the independent character of the news agency, which functions on a no-profit basis.
The deal had also been opposed by civil rights groups, journalists' unions and academics.
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