Manipur talk show gets notice under new IT rules, withdrawn later

Imphal, March 2 : Hours after a district magistrate in Manipur sent a notice to a digital news platform under the Centre’s new rules to regulate digital media in the country, the district authorities withdrew the notice with “immediate effect”.
In a related development, the Secretary at the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Amit Khare, in a letter to Manipur Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar clarified that under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism and the requirement of furnishing information and disclosure of information are to be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
“These powers have not been delegated to the state government or the district magistrate or the police commissioner,” Khare told the Chief Secretary.
The district magistrate of Imphal West district, Naorem Praveen Singh, had on Monday morning served a notice to the publisher and intermediary of a Facebook-based online programme on “news and current affairs” named “Khanasi Neinasi”, asking the publisher and the intermediary to furnish “all the relevant documents showing compliance of the provisions of the new information technology rules, failing which steps as deemed fit shall be initiated without further notice”.
The notice was withdrawn on Monday evening by the same district magistrate.
In Manipuri, Khanasi Neinasi means ‘let’s talk’.