The Hindu : TV channels want ban on political advertisements to go

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 04, 2004

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TV channels want ban on political advertisements to go

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3. Leading broadcasters today urged the Election Commission and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to lift the ban on political advertisements in the electronic media. However, they had to return empty-handed after both the Commission and the Ministry told them there was little they could do under law.

The broadcasters — under the banner of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation — began their day by knocking at the EC's doors. During their meeting, the broadcasters were told that the EC was only going by the rulebook. The EC explained to them the legal position and said that as long as the law was in force, it was for the Government to implement it.

Later in the day, the Information and Broadcasting Secretary, Pawan Chopra, told the broadcasters that with the model code of conduct in place, the Ministry would have to follow the EC's directive. The EC had said that political advertisements could not be aired on the electronic media in view of a provision in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

In its representation, the IBF said that in a country with a sizable population of "uneducated voters," the electronic media could play a major role in enabling people to make an "informed choice" while exercising their franchise. Also, the IBF said that Rule 7(3) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, prescribed under Section 6 (advertisement code) of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, had been in existence since 1995 and "political advertisements and campaigning have been allowed at least since January 2002."

The effectiveness and reach of the electronic media apart, the IBF maintained that it was less expensive to advertise on television.

It complained about the unfair treatment being meted out to the electronic media as political advertisements were not banned in newspapers.

While the broadcasters have not ruled out the legal option, they are yet to take a final decision. According to one broadcaster, the IBF was unlikely to go to court and it was up to individual broadcasters to wage their own battles against the ban.

Among the broadcasting houses represented in the delegation were BBC World, Discovery India, TV Today, Star and Zee.

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