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MUMBAI:
Politcal parties are given 110 hours of broadcast facillity
by the Election Commission (EC).
The
parties will get a total of 10 hours on Doordarshan and AIR.
They will get initially 45 minutes each, but the remaining
four hours and 45 minutes will be divided among them in proportion
to the percentage of votes polled by them in the last general
elections. The parties will have to follow certain guidelines,
the Commission has said.
Even
as the EC has permitted seven national political parties and
39 state parties to use Doordarshan and All India Radio to
make election broadcasts for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls,
it has said the transcript of any political advertisement
by any party in Hindi, English or regional languages should
be submitted to the office of the screening committee in the
office of the Central Election Commission in Delhi.
The
seven national parties are the Congress, Bharatiya Janata
Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Communist
Party of India-Marxist, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Nationalist
Congress Party.
Equitable
time-sharing has become possible for recognized political
parties with the amendment to the Representation of People
Act, 1951, and so this facility will not be available to registered-unrecognized
political parties or any independent candidates.
The
39 state parties have been given 30 hours of telecasting time
on the regional Doordarshan centres. Each party will get time
vouchers of denomination of 5 minutes equal to the total time
allotted to it for telecasts on Doordarshan and broadcasts
on AIR. The party will have the discretion to choose any representatives
and allow them to use those time vouchers, provided that no
such individual representative will be allowed to use more
than 20 minutes of the total time allotted to that party,
either on Doordarshan or on AIR.
As
in previous elections, the actual date and time during which
the telecasts/broadcasts will be made by the authorized representatives
of any party will be predetermined by draw of lots by the
Prasar Bharati Corporation. The days of the week and the time
slots during which these telecasts/broadcasts will be made
will be decided by Prasar Bharati in consultation with the
Commission.
The
parties will have to avoid criticism of other countries, attack
on religions or communities, anything obscene or defamatory,
incitement of violence, anything amounting to contempt of
court aspersions against the integrity of the President and
Judiciary, anything affecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity
of the country and any criticism by name of any persons.
Prasar
Bharati may also organize a maximum of two national panel
discussion/debates on the national channel of Doordarshan
and All India Radio. Each nationally recognized Party can
nominate one representative to such programmes. The Commission
will approve the names of moderators for such panel discussions
and debates in consultation with Prasar Bharati.
With
regard to advertisements, the Commission in a clarificatory
letter to the Union Government said any certification obtained
from the Delhi office for any advertisement in Hindi, English
or regional language would be valid for broadcast in states
as well provided the certificate is given to the state Election
body along with a declaration that the certificate is a true
copy of the original issued in Delhi.
While applying with certified copies of the transcripts of
the advertisements, the applicant should also submit a duly
sworn affidavit stating, as is done in the Courts, that the
regional language version of the advertisement is a true translation
of the advertisement in Hindi/English and the applicant will
be responsible for any mistake therein. No separate certification
would be required in such cases from the committees in other
States.
For
advertisements that are only in regional languages and not
in Hindi or English, applications can be submitted directly
in the office of the Election body in the respective state
to which the language pertains.
Also
Read:
Radio
sector to get Rs 500 mn boost from political advertising
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