As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) orders, no political advertisements and announcements should be published in the print media on the day of polling or the previous day in the State, without obtaining permission from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC), said Information & Public Relations Commissioner T Vijay Kumar Reddy.
The many objectionable and misleading advertisements in the previous general elections have come to the notice and the ECI has decided that without permission from the MCMC, no advertisement should be published in the print media this year, he said.
In a press release here on Tuesday, Vijay Kumar Reddy said that misleading advertisements have come to the notice of the ECI several times. So, there would be no time for political parties and candidates to clarify or give rejoinder notice to the media. At this stage, this type of advertisements and announcements would harm the spirit of the process of the election, he said.
Further, he said that the Election Commission has taken all necessary steps to prevent misleading advertisements and announcements per Article 324 of the Constitution. If any print media publishes such news, the MCMC will take stringent action using its powers, he said. He explained that political parties and candidates are interested in advertisements and took permission from the MCMC at the district and State levels.
