New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday sent a show cause notice to the Rajasthan Congress for putting out advertisements in the newspapers 'camouflaged' as news reports.
EC said that a complaint was received against Congress which stated that advertisements in a newspaper have been presented in a manner so as to look like newspaper headlines in an attempt to give credibility to a purely political campaign in the guise of news.
The action came after the BJP moved the EC with complaints against the Congress and demanded action from the poll body against the state's ruling party, reported news agency PTI.
The poll body asked state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra to respond to the notice by 3 pm on Thursday.
"I am directed to seek your explanation on the said complaint by 3 PM tomorrow and, in the interim, refrain from utilizing this format, content, language and placement of advertisement, which as per your own party's complaint of March 28, 2021, violates the spirit of the RP Act, 1951 and MCC, both designed to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders," the notice read, reported ANI.
"Political advertisements by political parties and other stakeholders should not be masqueraded as news," EC said.
A BJP delegation, which included Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and former minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, also charged the opposition party with resorting to "corrupt" practices by asking people to give missed calls on a mobile number to get benefits of its guarantees if it retains the power in the state.
"A registered number was generated for the caller, creating an impression that only the caller would benefit by voting for a particular candidate or party, specifically the Congress party," the party delegation, which also included its IT department head Amit Malviya and another leader Om Pathak, said.
Meanwhile, Prasad had highlighted BJP's another complaint against Congress, where the party accused Congress of issuing Hindi advertisements in a couple of leading dailies about a "lahar" (wave) in its favour in the ongoing Assembly elections in Rajasthan, reported PTI.
Mandaviya had told reporters, "It is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and also the Press Council of India's guidelines on advertisements."
"The said advertisement is false, frivolous and wholly unverified, contrary to the actual facts and statistics available on record," the BJP's memorandum to the EC said and demanded stringent action, including FIR, against the Congress, reported PTI.
Rajasthan will vote on November 25 and the results will be declared on December 3.