A Dubai-based non-resident Indian is all set to launch a 24-hour Malayalam news channel backed by the Congress party in Kerala.
The proposed Jai Hind channel, headed by Keralite Aniyan Kutty, would be launched in March or April.
"Yes, it is true the Congress party is supporting the channel and I am the chairman of it," Kutty told IANS over the phone from Dubai.'
Technical consultants would be Symphony Television.
"I have had a few rounds of talks with Congress leaders but am unable to divulge more details. My brief is the technical and programming part and I am on the job," said Krishna Kumar, chief of Symphony Television.
Kumar was also the brain behind Asianet TV in the early 1990s and the one who launched the Communist Party of India-Marxist backed Kairali TV.
He said technical aspects like booking the satellites had almost been clinched and the uplinking would be from the headquarters here.
"This would be a news oriented channel with a mix of entertainment," said Kumar.
"You have to ask the Congress leaders if it is a party channel. My brief is very clear -- to see that it takes off as per schedule. I am not that concerned about who is behind it," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"You have to ask the Congress leaders if it is a party channel. My brief is very clear -- to see that it takes off as per schedule. I am not that concerned about who is behind it," he added.
{{/usCountry}}State Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala has often been asked about the prospects of the party starting a channel and has said: "We are not starting any channel, but if someone comes forward we would have no problem."
The Congress party in Kerala has been keen to counter the inroads made by Kairali TV in the last four years. With the assembly polls in May this year, this is as good a time as any to launch a channel.