Bihar Elections 2020: No uncertified ads on polling day and day before it
New Delhi, Oct 21: The Election Commission has barred parties, candidates and others from publishing political advertisements on polling day and a day prior to it the three phases of the Bihar polls unless their contents are pre-certified by screening committees.
The same restriction will apply to the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha bypoll in Bihar to be held on November 7.
The Commission has used its constitutional powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to take the decision.
The EC had taken such a decision for the first time in the 2015 Bihar polls.
Bihar Elections 2020: Assembly wise schedule, date of polling and counting
Its proposal to ban political advertisements on election day and a day before has been pending with the law ministry for a few years.
In a letter to Bihar's chief electoral officer on Monday, the poll panel said instances of advertisements of offending and misleading nature published in the print media have been brought to its notice in the past.
"Such
advertisements
in
the
last
stage
of
the
election
vitiate
the
entire
election
process.
The
affected
candidates
and
parties
will
not
have
any
opportunity
of
providing
clarification/rebuttal
in
such
a
scenario,"
it
said.
To ensure that no untoward incident takes place because of any inflammatory or hate advertisements, it is using its constitutional powers to direct that "no political party or candidate or any other organisation or person" will publish any advertisement in the print media on the day and one day prior to poll day in all the phases, unless the contents are pre-certified by screening committees, the letter stated.
As of now, only the electronic media is barred from showing election publicity material during the last 48 hours before conclusion of polling.
Bihar Elections 2020: 328 candidates have pending criminal cases against them
Recommended Video
In 2016, the EC had urged the government to amend the electoral law to bar political advertisements in newspapers 48 hours before the day of polling on the lines of the restrictions on electronic media.
The move had come in the wake of the poll panel using its constitutional powers to ban such newspaper advertisements on a case-by-case basis during the Bihar assembly election in October-November of 2015.