New Delhi: Indian broadcasters on July 4 joined hands to accuse the foreign broadcasters of adopting "arm-twisting tactics" to delay implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS).

The Indian broadcasters – Aaj Tak, SABe TV, Sahara TV and Eenadu TV, who met in Mumbai, also opposed the "rollout plan" suggested by their foreign counterparts, saying it will lead to opening the Indian airwaves to foreign invasion.

"By submitting to the rollout plan suggested by foreign broadcaster, not only would the government discriminate amongst viewers, but will also fail to honour the mandate given by Indian public through Parliament.

"If politicians do not wake up to this fact, they would be opening the Indian airwaves to a foreign invasion," a joint statement issued by domestic broadcasters after the meeting said.

The statement was issued even as domestic broadcasters and cable operators met officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to sort out the problems in CAS implementation from July 15.

They said the delay in CAS implementation would work against the public interest and would also seriously erode the credibility of the government.

The Indian broadcasters have recommended a 30-day relief period for the rollout, in which all free-to-air (FTA) and pay channels would have to be provided by the multi-system operators within the cap of Rs 72 as slated by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

PTI