The furore created by influencer Ranveer Allahbadia's crass remarks has underlined the need for enacting regulations and laws to cover social media and over-the-top platforms, a senior functionary of a parliamentary panel that is studying the existing legal instruments covering the media said on Tuesday.
Some members of the parliamentary committee on Communications and Information Technology, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, have said they will raise the issue of Allahbadia's "vulgar" comments at the panel's meeting scheduled for Feb. 13.
A senior committee member said some MPs may raise the matter as it is their prerogative but the panel will concern itself with the wider issues concerning the content on various media platforms.
The influencer may not be summoned, he said.
Allahbadia has apologised for his comments.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, a committee member, has said she will raise the issue for the kind of "vulgar, blasphemous content that is passed off as comedy".
"We need to set boundaries since these platforms influence young minds and they are passing off absolute rubbish as content. The language used by Ranveer Allahbadia, which was also actively encouraged by others on that 'comedy panel', is unacceptable," she said.
The committee's agenda for the meeting pertains to the oral evidence of the representatives of the ministries of communications, and information and broadcasting.
Several members of the panel had, at its meeting on January 31, pitched for strengthening laws related to the media and bringing news portals and OTT platforms under their ambit as Dubey raised issues like 'rampant' paid news and some news channels turning to sensationalism for television rating points.
Most members of the standing committee on Communications and Information Technology were of the view that the Press Council of India Act, which covers the print media, must be strengthened and new portals should also come under its jurisdiction, sources said.
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