With the Election Commission taking a strict stand against the publishing or airing of paid news in the media in the run-up to the Assembly elections in four States and a Union Territory, the Commission's Director-General (Information, Education and Communication) Akshay Routh held meetings with senior representatives of media houses here on Friday to sensitise them about the paid news issue.
The matter of raising awareness among electors about their right to vote through the mass media and motivating more electors into casting their franchises was also discussed at the meetings.
Seeks collaboration
Pointing out that the EC would take “decisive measures” against any incident of paid news, Mr. Routh sought the collaboration of the media houses in doing away with the practice.
“Paid news is an avenue chosen by the candidates to evade the strict expenditure guidelines set by the Commission. Moreover, the Commission is also concerned about the undue influence such news have on people. Both State and district-level committees have been set up at all the four States and the Union Territory to scrutinise and identify paid news, and strict measures will be taken against any candidate who indulges in it,” he said.
Referring to the Bihar Assembly elections last year, Mr. Routh said that more than 100 notices were served on candidates for paid news who were later forced to show the expenses in their election-expenditure account.
Action on media houses
Asked if the media houses publishing or airing paid news would be penalised, he said that the matter would be looked into by the Income Tax department's expenditure observers and action taken accordingly.
Appreciating the comparatively high voter-turnout in the State's elections, Mr. Routh said that the office of the State Elections Officer was devising mass media campaigns to achieve near-total participation of electors.
A “Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour Practices Survey” was conducted recently to study the barriers to voting and find out ways to inform, motivate and facilitate voter turnout in large numbers, he added.
