The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday objected to the full-page newspaper advertisements by the Bharatiya Janata Party highlighting the achievements of the Narendra Modi government and appealing to people to vote for the party.
The AAP contended that the advertisements violated the Model Code of Conduct as they were published on the eve of polls. The BJP and the Election Commission (EC), however, rejected the objection saying no laws were violated as the advertisements came out in newspapers.
AAP’s Ashutosh said: “Delhi has seen that every paper has a front page advertisement given by BJP. In my opinion this is clear-cut violation of the EC guidelines and the Model Code of Conduct.”
He also questioned the laws allowing advertisements in print media and banning them on electronic media as both were capable of influencing the mindset of the voter.
He vented his anger on Twitter. “From where BJP gets money to give front page AD in every newspaper. These ADs are most expensive and costliest”; “Every paper in Delhi is carrying front page BJP AD. What is the source of money? AAP’s fight is Ag money power,” he tweeted.
BJP leaders, however, insisted that they were well within their rights to publish advertisements. The EC, too, did not find anything wrong. “Section 126 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951, bars display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus. It is not applicable to the print media,” an EC official was quoted by PTI .
