The visual makeover for Doordarshan’s news channels marked by a change in the colour of its logo from red to orange has sparked a controversy, with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and I&B minister locking horns over what the opposition called an attempt to “saffronise” the national broadcaster.
Mamata slammed the move calling it “absolutely unethical, grossly illegal, and speaks loudly of the pro-BJP bias of the national public broadcaster” and demanded the Election Commission’s intervention.
I&B minister Anurag Thakur, however, shrugged off the charge and suggested that Mamata’s stand was in keeping with her resistance to “anything saffron”. Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi refuted the allegation and argued that the move was meant for visual enhancement and the colour that has raised hackles is, in fact, orange and not saffron as being alleged.
Congress MP and former I&B minister Manish Tiwari criticised the switch saying that it was a move to assert BJP govt’s control over the public broadcaster. “This is an attempt on the part of the government to saffronise and capture the government institutions. The said move clearly undermines the neutrality and credibility of India’s public broadcaster,” he wrote on X.
TMC MP Jawahar Sircar, who served as CEO of Prasar Bharati, also criticised the alleged saffronisation of the national broadcaster.
Dwivedi, however, argued that the adoption of a vibrant, visually appealing colour was part of the channel’s branding and aesthetic upgrade. “The colour is orange, not saffron,” he clarified, further explaining, “it’s not just the logo that underwent change, the entire visual identity has been revamped. It’s regrettable that people are reading more into this than necessary. We’ve been working on revitalising DD’s look and feel for the past six to eight months.”
