Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMCs) will be constituted at all districts and also the state level to control paid news during the election of urban bodies, as per an official statement.
Necessary instructions in this regard have been issued by the State Election Commission to the collectors and the district election officers. The election expenditure limit has been fixed for the candidates for the posts of mayor and corporators.
Secretary State Election Commission Rakesh Singh informed the media that the district election officers will regularly send information about the cases being received daily related to paid news in the districts and the decision taken by the MCMC on them in the prescribed format to the State Election Commission.
Chairman of the State level MCMC will be secretary State Election Commission and member secretary will be additional/joint director Public Relations.
The committee will comprise of an observer appointed by the State Election Commission for the general election, unbiased eminent citizen nominated by the State Election Commission, unbiased senior journalist nominated by the State Election Commission, an expert member co-opted by the committee.
Similarly, the district level MCMC's chairman will be the collector or the additional collector/chief executive officer of the district panchayat nominated by him. The member secretary will be the district public relations officer.
In the committee, the assistant returning officer of the urban body of the district headquarters, an impartial, distinguished citizen nominated by the collector (not affiliated with any political party) and an impartial senior journalist nominated by the collector will be the members.
As per the official statement, if any political party or candidate wants to publish/broadcast any advertisement on print or electronic media (TV, cable network, cinema hall, radio) then he/she will have to apply in the prescribed form. Only the advertisement approved/as amended by the committee can be published and broadcast.
It may be noted that no provisions of the model code of conduct should be violated by such advertisement/broadcast, states the statement.
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