No. ECI/GE98/437MCS/98 16 January, 1998
Scheme for Use of Govt. owned Electronic Media by
Political Parties during Elections
O R D E R
The
question of State funding of election expenditure by
political parties has been engaging the attention of
the Election Commission of India, Parliament and the
Central Government for some time. However, no
decision could be arrived at in the matter, as it has
been linked with the bigger question of overall
Electoral Reforms.
2. The
Commission has bestowed considerable thought on this
issue. One of the concrete proposals initiated by the
Commission has been the use of Govt. owned electronic
media by the recognised National and State political
parties, on a much extended scale, during elections,
in lieu of the limited facility that is presently
available to them of making one telecast and two
broadcasts of 15 minutes duration each over
Doordarshan and All India Radio at the time of
general elections to the House of the People and
State Legislative Assemblies. The reach of the vast
network of Doordarshan and All India Radio is now
widespread, covering almost every nook and corner of
the country, and their impact substantive. Use of
such electronic media by political parties would
provide them with an opportunity to give first hand
information to voters about their policies,
programmes, manifestos and views on major issues. For
electors also, it would be an important source of
information for understanding major policy issues as
projected by different parties.
3. The
provision of above facility to political parties
would considerably cut down their expenses on
election campaigns and general party propaganda and,
as such, would amount to indirect State funding. One
of the most important features of the above facility
would be that, unlike money transactions, it would
not involve any maintenance of detailed accounts and
rendition of such accounts to any authority for
scrutiny and audit. Further, unlike cash subsidy, it
can not be misused.
4. The
above scheme was discussed by the Commission with the
recognised National and State parties at the meetings
held at New Delhi, on 7th May 1997and,
again, on the 22nd and 23rd
December 1997. They all whole-heartedly welcomed the
scheme.
5. The
Commission has further interacted with the Prasar
Bharati Corporation, which now manages the
Doordarshan and All India Radio. That Corporation has
also welcomed the Scheme and agreed to provide
suitable assistance, and support, to implement the
Scheme and make it operational for the ensuing
general elections to the House of the People (for
constituting the 12th Lok Sabha) and
certain State Legislative Assemblies.
6.
Accordingly, the Commission, after consultation with
the Prasar Bharati Corporation, and in exercise of
its plenary powers of superintendence, direction and
control, inter alia, of elections to Parliament and
State Legislatures vested in it by Article 324 of the
Constitution of India, hereby directs, as follows:
Parties eligible for Telecast/Broadcast facility:
(i)
The above facility of use of Doordarshan (DD) and All
India Radio (AIR) shall be available, in connection
with the forthcoming general elections to the House
of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the
States of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Nagaland and Tripura, only to those seven (7)
National parties and thirty four (34) States parties,
which are at present recognized as such
National or State parties, under the provisions of
the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment)
Order, 1968, and whose names are shown in the list
annexed hereto as Annexure-I. This
facility will not be available to
registered-unrecognized political parties or any
independent candidates. The Supreme Court has held in
the case of Ramakant Pandey vs. Union of India (AIR
1993 SC 1766) that the recognised National and State
parties stand on a different footing from the
unrecognised political parties and any discrimination
between these two categories of political parties
would be a reasonable and valid classification. At
present also, the above mentioned limited facility of
telecasts/broadcasts is available only to the
recognised National and State parties. The High
Courts of Allahabad, Madras and Karnataka have also
upheld the above classification in W.P.No.5790 of
1984 (Hari Shankar Jain vs. Chief Election
Commissioner and others), W.Ps. Nos.12378 of 1984 and
14507 of 1989 (P.T.Srinivasan vs. Union of India and
others and S. Shanmugam vs. Chief Electoral Officer,
Tamil Nadu and others) and W.P. No.19367 of 1984
(Raghunathmal vs. Election Commission of India and
others) respectively. The Madras High Court has, in
the above-mentioned cases, specifically upheld the
grant of above facility of telecasts/broadcasts only
to the recognised political parties.
Total time Allotted for Telecasts/Broadcasts:
(ii)
The Prasar Bharti Corporation shall set apart On
Doordarshan
(a) a
total of not less than 10 hours of telecasting time
on the National channel of the Doordarshan, for
telecasts by the National parties;
(b) a total of not less than 15 hours of telecasting
time on the Regional Doordarshan Kendras, for
telecasts by the National parties;
(c) a total of not less than 30 hours of telecasting
time on the Regional Doordarshan Kendras, for
telecasts by the State parties; and
(d) a total of 6 hours of telecasting time through
the Regional Satellite Services channel available to
viewers across the whole country.
AND
On All India Radio
(e) a total of not less than 10 hours of broadcasting
time on the National hookup of the All India Radio,
for broadcasts by the National parties;
(f) a total of not less than 15 hours of broadcasting
time on the Regional AIR Stations, for broadcasts by
the National parties;
(g) a total of not less than 30 hours of broadcasting
time on the Regional AIR Stations, for broadcasts by
the State parties; and
(h) a total of 6 hours broadcasting time on the
National hook up for broadcasts by the State Parties.
Allocation of Time to each Party:
(ii) Each National and State party shall be allotted
time for telecasts over Doordarshan(DD) and
broadcasts on All India Radio (AIR), according to the
following parameters:-
For National Parties:
(a) of the total ten hours telecasting/broadcasting
time reserved over the National channel/hookup of
DD/AIR for the National parties, 45 (forty five)
minutes shall be allotted to each of the 7 National
parties, i.e., a total of five hours and fifteen
minutes (5-1/4 hours), each on the DD & AIR
separately;
(b) the remaining four hours and forty five minutes
(4-3/4 hours) telecasting / broadcasting time shall
be further divided among the seven National parties,
according to the percentage of votes polled by each
such party, at the last general election to the House
of the People held in 1996;
(c) in addition, each National party shall be
allotted one and a half times of the total
time allotted to it under sub-paras (a) and (b)
above, for telecasts/broadcasts on the Regional
Doordarshan Kendras/Regional AIR Stations;
(d) of the total time so allotted to each National
party under sub-para ( c ), each such party shall
have the option to utilise the time so allotted on
any of the Regional Doordarshan Kendra/State capital
AIR Station:
provided that not more than one-tenth (1/10th)
of such time shall be utilised by it at any one
Regional Doordarshan Kendras/AIR Stations;
For State Parties:
(e) of the total time of thirty (30) hours reserved
for telecasting/broadcasting by the State parties on
the Regional DD Kendras/ Regional AIR Stations, each
of the 34 State parties shall be allotted forty five
(45) minutes, i.e., a total of twenty five hours and
thirty minutes (25-1/2 hours), each on DD and AIR
separately;
(f) the remaining four hours and thirty minutes
(4-1/2 hours) telecasting/broadcasting time for
parties shall be further divided among the said 34
State parties, according to the percentage of votes
polled by each such party in the State (s) in which
it is recognized, at the last general election to the
House of the People held in 1996, and the last
general election to the Legislative Assembly of the
State concerned, taken together;
(g) in addition, each State party shall be allotted
10 minutes telecasting / broadcasting time on
Regional Satellite Services channel of DD available
to viewers across the whole country and the National
hook up of AIR.
Time vouchers for Parties
(iii) Each party shall be given time vouchers of
different denominations of, 5 minutes and 10 minutes,
equal to the total time allotted to it for telecasts
on Doordarshan and broadcasts on AIR. That party
shall have the discretion to choose any
representatives and allow them to use those time
vouchers, provided that no such individual
representative shall be allowed to use more than 20
minutes of the total time allotted to that party,
either on Doordarshan or on AIR.
Dates of Telecasts/Broadcasts
(iv) The above telecasts/broadcasts shall span
between the last date of nominations for the first
phase and two days prior to the last of the dates of
poll any where in India in case of Parliamentary
elections, and the relevant State or States where
elections for the respective State Assemblies are
also being held simultaneously. The Prasar Bharati
Corporation, in consultation with the Commission,
will decide and announce the days of the week and the
time slots during which these telecasts/broadcasts
will be made.
(v) The actual date and time during which the above
telecasts/broadcasts will be made by the authorised
representatives of any party shall be predetermined,
by lot, by the Prasar Bharati Corporation, in
consultation with the Commission.
(vi) While deciding about such Dates and time, it
shall be ensured that fairness and equity is
maintained, as far as possible and having due regards
to the technical constraints in regard to the
occasion and time for the telecasts/broadcasts by
such parties.
Guidelines for observance in Telecasts/Broadcasts
(vii) 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 to violence;
(e) anything amounting to contempt of court;
(f) aspersons against the integrity of the President
and Judiciary;
(g) anything affecting the unity, sovereignty and
integrity of the Nation; and
(i) any criticism by name of any person.
Submission of Transcripts in advance
(viii) The parties or their representatives shall
have to submit, in advance, within the time frame as
indicated by the Prasar Bharati Corporation on
account of technical constraints, the transcripts of
their telecasts/broadcasts to the authorities
specified in this behalf by the Prasar Bharati
Coporation. It shall be the responsibility of the
parties to have their transcripts, after approval,
recorded at their cost in Private Studios; meeting
required technical standards of the Prasar Bharati
Corporation, provided that the symbol of the party
with a white background can be shown in any video
recording.
Panel Discussions and Debate
(ix) In addition to the above mentioned Party
telecasts/broadcasts, the Prasar Bharati Corporation
may organise a maximum of two national panel
discussions/debates on the national channels of Door
Darshan and All India Radio. Each nationally
recognised Party can nominate one representative to
such programmes.
The Election Commission of India will approve the
names of moderators for such panel discussions and
debates in consultation with the Prasar Bharati
Corporation.
(x) In the States of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, where Assembly
elections are also being held simultaneously, similar
debates and panel discussions may be arranged from
the Regional Kendras of Door Darshan and All India
Radio for elections to the concerned State
Assemblies. In these programmes, the concerned State
recognised parties will be permitted to participate.
Powers of the Election Commission to remove
Difficulties
7. Notwithstanding anything contained in para 6, the
Election Commission may issue such further directions
and instructions –
(a) for the clarification of any of the provisions of
this Order, or
(b) for the removal of any doubt which may arise in
relation to the implementation of any such provision;
or
(c) in relation to any matter with respect to the
allotment of time to, or utilisation of time by, any
recognised National or State party, for which this
Order makes no provision or makes insufficient
provision, and such provision is, in the opinion of
the Commission, necessary for the smooth and orderly
implementation of the scheme covered by this Order.
8. The above guidelines shall also apply mutatis
mutandis at all future elections to Parliament and
State Legislatures.
By Order,
(Subas Pani)
Deputy Election Commissioner