Haryana: Refrain from broadcasting communal news, electoral officer advises media

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 28

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anurag Agarwal today said the media played a significant role in the conduct of General Election in a free, fair, and peaceful manner. Therefore, during the model code of conduct, publishing and broadcasting news and advertisements according to the rules and guidelines set by the Press Council of India for print media and the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) for electronic media is mandatory.

VVPAT to be used again

The Chief Electoral Officer said to increase voters’ trust, the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used again this time. When a voter casts his vote, the VVPAT screen will display the voter’s vote for seven seconds. This gives the voter the confidence that the vote he has cast has gone to the intended candidate.

Agarwal said this while chairing a review meeting here regarding the preparations for the General Election.

Agarwal said after the implementation of the model code of conduct, any candidate or political party giving advertisements for printing or broadcasting in print or electronic media would be required to verify whether the advertisement had been certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

He said the MCMC committee had been formed at the central, state, and district levels, and candidates or political parties did not need to obtain certification only from Haryana’s MCMC committee. Candidates or political parties can also obtain certification from the MCMC committee located in Delhi, which will also be valid in Haryana.

Agarwal, providing information about the rules and guidelines set by the Press Council of India and the News Broadcasting Standards Authority, said during the model code of conduct, the media should refrain from broadcasting communal, illegal, casteist, and anti-national news.

He said various types of advertising material are printed by candidates and political parties for election campaigning, so it is necessary to send the printed material by the publisher and printer to the office of the District Magistrate concerned or Chief Electoral Officer. He said if any individual printed or broadcast advertising material on behalf of a candidate or political party, then the media organisation will have to check whether the individual had obtained consent from the candidate or political party.

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