Despite attorney-general G.E. Vahanvati throwing his weight behind the Election Commission’s proposal that opinion polls be banned right from the date of notification of elections till the final phase of polling, the Union law ministry has refused to take a stand on it and has asked the poll panel to consult all political parties afresh over the issue.
Sources said that law minister Kapil Sibal has returned the file on banning opinion polls to the EC.
Earlier, he had said that the government should not ban opinion polls without taking political parties into confidence.
The EC had sought a ban on opinion polls on the lines of exit polls that is already in place, which restricts the broadcast of exit polls till the completion of the last phase of polling.
The EC had based its opinion after hearing the views of political parties that overwhelmingly was in favour of banning the opinion polls. The interaction over the issue took place in 2004.
With the new suggestion of the law ministry, the EC is all set to once again embark on the process of seeking the opinion of political parties over the matter.
The top law officer of the country had earlier, in his opinion, said that there is no real basis to distinguish between opinion polls and exit polls, as exit polls have already been restricted. He said, “As rightly pointed out by the EC, what is paramount is the necessity to have free and fair elections. One cannot disagree with the view of the EC that such opinion polls often tend to cause a prejudicial effect on the minds of the electors.”
He added further, “One must also take into consideration the views of the political parties at the meeting held on April 6, 2004 and the unanimous view expressed therein.”