After taking the scalpel to the flag which appears on the MTV logo, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is agitated about Bharat Bala's tricolour.

Naqvi said today that Vande Mataram, sung by Lata Mangeshkar, set to music by A R Rahman, was an insult to the national flag. The flag is shown lying on the ground, from where it is picked up by some turbaned gents who dismount horses.

The Minister was articulating what appears to be the Government policy on programming content. He said such ``disgraceful'' sequences would not be tolerated by the Ministry, even if private satellite channels were foreign-owned. ``Till the Broadcasting Bill is presented in the winter session of Parliament, we will keep a strict watch on all the channels,'' he said. Individual mistakes would be pointed out, he said, and corrective action be demanded. ``The public should know that we are serious about all this,'' he said.

He said private satellite channels were subverting Indian culture by giving a patriotic or religious tint to vulgarity. ``So, they will sing a bhajan

but show nudity,'' he said, ``or they will film a Hindi film classic on a half-naked woman.''

He was equally critical of television serials which he said, ``only portrayed extra-marital relationships. What is true of only 10 per cent of India, they show as being the reality of 90 per cent of the country,'' he added. He said that Indian society was certainly not as driven by domestic conflict as TV serials depicted them.

Several delegations had complained to him about the increasing vulgarity on television, he said, especially when he travelled in the South. Naqvi hastened to add that he did not believe in clamping down on freedom of expression. Nor was he espousing backward ideas. ``Even in America, liquor and tobacco advertising is not allowed on TV. They also have the V-chip which can screen violence and nudity. So why should we accept their garbage when they don't?''

As for MTV, the Minister said it appeared that they were ready to withdraw the logo. The Ministry will be sending a legal notice to MTV for bringing disrespect to the national flag under Section 5.8 of the Indian Flag Code and Section 7 (1) of the Cable Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

MTV officials in Mumbai issued a statement in the evening saying they were deeply concerned about Naqvi's statements. They said they have sought an audience with the Ministry to ``understand the situation and comply.''

They added that the logo ``reflects the spirit and culture of our young audiences across the country''.