Mangalore, Mar 21: Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim said that district administration has formed a Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) to keep an eye on the advertisements issued by political parties and candidates.
Speaking at the DC office on March 20, Thursday, he said that the committee, which been formed as per the direction of the Election Commissioner and has the District Returning Officer as the Chairman will also monitor the social media used by political parties for campaigning.
DC also said that the District Information Officer is its Member Secretary while Akashvani Station Director Vasanth Kumar Perla, Journalist Raghuram Bhat and all Assistant Returning Officers are its members.
He also said that any advertisements issued to any media by the parties must be pre-certified by the MCMC. A political party which wants to reproduce its certified Hindi/English advertisements in regional language must also get permission from the committee. Apart from it audio visual displays of advertisements need to be certified by the Committee, he added.
DC said the Election Commission has proposed to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to make paid news a punishable offence and has recommended minimum two years of imprisonment and the same is pending approval. The committee will also monitor paid news and candidate will be served a notice requiring him or her to reply within 48 hours. Based on the week’s final detailed report, Paid news will be reported to the EC. Further these reports will be considered and the names will be sent to the Press Council of India and News Broadcasters Association for further action, he said.
So far two complaints on paid news have been received in the district, he added.
