I&B Ministry kept EC in dark on cable TV ad ban

[icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu]

The Election Commission was kept in the dark by the Information &
Broadcasting Ministry about a provision in the Cable TV Regulation Act,
1995, which prohibits advertisement of religious/political nature totally.
The EC had argued that only a few major parties would be able to afford TV
ads and therefore, it would ''introduce serious distortions in the electoral
arena''. And therefore, the EC had for the first time decided to ban
political ads during the 1998 general elections. However, the I&B Ministry
Secretary failed to bring it to the EC's notice that the 1995 Cable TV
Regulation Act was already in force and the issue did not require a fresh EC
directive. Subsequently, the Andhra Pradesh High Court - which looked into
the issue in the light of poll expenditure of candidates - stayed the EC
order. Four years down the line, the EC again issued a similar ban on
political ads on the electronic media on November 19, 2003. This was
withdrawn within two days after the Andhra HC order was rediscovered. ''And,
all this while the I&B Ministry kept silent on the fact that an Act of
Parliament was already in place,'' EC sources said.

Source:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=42195