The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Mudslinging ads

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Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Mudslinging ads

Sir, — The Supreme Court has indicated that it will consider making political mudslinging an electoral offence under the Representation of the People Act. Given the existing level of corruption and criminalisation of politics, an intervention by the Court to the extent indicated appears welcome.

There is no doubt that paucity of integrity and lack of democratic practices among our politicians have necessitated the present thinking by the Court. But the people's right to know is also of paramount importance.

P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala

* * *

Sir, — The Court's directive to the Election Commission "to frame broad guidelines on surrogate ads" is welcome.

The guidelines should include a ban on provocative speeches, which tend to derail the normal functioning of the Government.

T. Rajeswar Rao,
Hyderabad

* * *

Sir, — The proposed move seems to be belated as a sizeable proportion of the mudslinging campaigns has already been shown on the electronic medium.

That there is nothing wrong with them and the viewer has every right to know the good and the bad about a candidate is another matter. The term `surrogate ads' has indeed generated a lot of confusion.

he line between slander and legitimate political criticism may be very thin; but it is also a misconception that the voter can be swayed by political gimmicks and ads.

K.S. Thampi,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — Mudslinging among politicians is inevitable. As for the attempts to regulate it, if cases against politicians and bureaucrats charged with corruption are expedited, we will not have many politicians in the fray who indulge in slanderous campaigning. Nor will there be many candidates who offer scope for slandering.

K. Chokkaraman,
Virudhunagar, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — The EC's idea of mandatory prior approval for election-related ads makes one uneasy, because this may degenerate into an arbitrary censorship in the long run. It could end up blocking the projection of even relevant issues about candidates and parties.

A.N. Lakshmanan,
Coimbatore

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