'No Print Ads Without Clearance': EC Asks Political Parties To Avoid Making Unverified Claims

The EC asked political parties to refrain from making unverified claims during poll campaigns. It also said that editors are responsible for the advertisements published in their newspapers.

The Election Commission on Sunday (May 7) asked political parties to refrain from making unverified claims during the election campaign. The statement comes a day after the EC issued a notice to Congress over its "corruption rate card" advertisements in poll-bound Karnataka. The commission sought "empirical" evidence from the party to back up its claims. The notice was issued in response to a complaint filed by the BJP. The EC stated in a letter to editors said that they are responsible for advertisements published in their newspapers. 

The EC said in an advisory ahead of the May 10 voting in Karnataka that no party or candidate shall publish any advertisement in the print media on the poll day or one day prior without clearance from the media certification and monitoring committee.

The campaign for the Karnataka assembly elections will conclude on Monday.

The poll authority also emphasised "clean and serious" campaigning in its advisory to political parties as electioneering reached a fever pitch for the polls.

The Congress released a set of posters and advertisements ahead of the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, allegedly listing the state's "corruption rates" between 2019 and 2023. It referred to the BJP as the "trouble engine" and depicted various "scandals" of the state's ruling government, such as the '40% commission' charged by state contractors.

'You Are Responsible For Ads Published In Your Papers': EC To Newspaper Editors

The Election Commission (EC) made it clear to editors in a separate letter that the Press Council of India's journalistic conduct standards hold them accountable for all matters, including advertisements, published in their newspapers.

"If responsibility is disclaimed, this shall be explicitly stated beforehand," the Commission stated in a letter to Karnataka newspaper editors.

According to the advisory to political parties, advertisements during the silence period – on election day and one day before the polls – must be pre-certified by the media certification and monitoring committee (MCMC).

The advisory stated: "No political party or candidate or any other organisation or person shall publish any advertisement in the print media on the poll day and one day prior to poll day unless the contents of political advertisement are got pre-certified by them from the MCMC at the state/district level, as the case may be".

Karnataka goes to polls on May 10. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.