A
copy of the Order No.437/TVs-LA2014/Communication, dated 22nd
September 2014 issued by the Commission regarding allotment of
Broadcast/Telecast time to political parties in the General Election to
Legislative Assemblies of Haryana & Maharashtra - 2014 is enclosed for the
information of the general public.
ORDER
At
the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1998, a new initiative for
State funding of recognized political parties through free use of the State
owned Television and Radio was introduced under directions of the Commission vide
its Order, dated 16th January, 1998. The said scheme was
subsequently extended in all the General Elections to the State Assemblies held
after 1998 and General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009 &
2014.
With
the amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 vide "Election
and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003" and the rules notified
thereunder, equitable time sharing for campaigning by recognized political
parties on electronic media now has statutory basis. In exercise of the powers
conferred by clause (a) of the Explanation below section 39A of the
Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Central Government has notified all
such broadcasting media which are owned or controlled or financed wholly or
substantially by funds provided to them by the Central Government as the
electronic media for the purposes of that section. Therefore, the Commission
has decided to extend the said scheme of equitable time sharing on electronic
media through Prasar Bharati Corporation to the ensuing General Election to the
State Legislative Assemblies of Haryana & Maharashtra 2014.
The
facilities of use of broadcast time and telecast time will be available only to
‘National Parties’ and ‘Recognized State Parties’ in respect of Haryana &
Maharashtra.
THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
1.
The
facilities will be available from the Regional Kendra of the All India Radio
and Doordarshan and in the headquarters of Haryana & Maharashtra and
relayed by other stations within Haryana & Maharashtra.
Time allotted
for Telecast/Broadcast:
2.
A
base time of 45 minutes will be given to each National Party and Recognized
State Party (recognized in respect of Haryana & Maharashtra) uniformly on
the Regional Kendras of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in the
States of Haryana & Maharashtra.
3.
The
additional time to be allotted to the parties has been decided on the basis of
the poll performance of the parties in the last assembly election from the
States of Haryana & Maharashtra.
4.
In
a single session of broadcast, no party will be allocated more than 15 minutes.
Date of
Telecasts/Broadcasts
5. The
period of broadcast and telecast will be between the last date of filing the
nominations and two days before the date of poll in the respective States of
Haryana & Maharashtra .
6. The
Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the
actual date and time for broadcast and telecast. This will be subject to the
broad technical constraints governing the actual time of transmission available
with the Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Submission
of Transcripts in advance
7. The guidelines prescribed by the
Commission for telecast and broadcast will be strictly followed. The
parties will be required to submit transcripts and recording in advance.
The parties can get this recorded at their own cost in studios, which meet the technical
standards prescribed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation or at the Doordarshan/All
India Radio Kendra. They can, in the alternative, have these recorded in the
studios of Doordarshan and All India Radio by advance requests. In such cases,
the recordings may be done at the State Capital and at timings
indicated by Doordarshan/All India Radio in advance.
Panel Discussions and Debate
8. In
addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will
organise a maximum of two panel discussions and/or debates on the
Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/All India Radio. Each eligible party can nominate
one representative to such a programme.
9. The
Election Commission of India will approve the names of coordinators for such
panel discussions and debates in consultation with the Prasar Bharati
Corporation.
Guidelines
for observance in Telecasts/Broadcasts
10. The
telecasts/broadcasts on Doordarshan/AIR will not permit:
(a) criticism
of other countries;
(b) attack
on religions or communities;
(c) anything
obscene or defamatory;
(d) incitement
of violence;
(e) anything
amounting to contempt of court;
(f) aspersion
against the integrity of the President and Judiciary;
(g) anything
affecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the Nation;
(h) any
criticism by name of any person.
Time Vouchers for Parties
11. Time Vouchers will be available in the
denomination of 5 minutes and 1 minutes (upto a maximum of 4 wherever
required) and the parties will be free to combine them suitably. The
allotment of time to different political parties is given in a statement
enclosed herewith.
Click here to
see annexure:
RM//RS