JAIPUR: Acting on BJP’s complaint to the Election Commission, the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan has directed Congress not to advertise the party’s seven poll guarantees through broadcasts in CM Ashok Gehlot’s voice.
The notice to Congress states that any election messaging on air without requisite permission constitutes a violation of the model code of conduct. Congress termed the bar on poll broadcasts an attempt to muzzle the party by an opposition “left with no genuine issue”.“This move appears to be driven by a fear of impending defeat,” said PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra, iterating what he and the party had said after the ED raided properties linked to him and his sons recently. “It is our right to inform the public about the work that will be undertaken once Congress returns to government. BJP should have opposed the guarantees when these were announced.”
The notice states that “the state-level media certification and monitoring committee observed the broadcast of two IVRS/OVD messages related to the election campaign without the necessary broadcast certificate from the state-level advertisement certification committee”.