The Election Commission of India on Monday termed the paid news phenomenon a complex problem and suggested that it could be dispensed with if “self-regulation” is observed by the media and political parties.
Speaking at an international meet on “Best Electoral Practices” organised on the eve of the launch of National Voters’ Day, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said, “In our estimate, the problem of paid news is best addressed by self-regulation by the media and political parties. But that is not happening.”
Regretting that the syndrome of paid news has made the enforcement of the expenditure ceiling very difficult, the CEC said, “Exercise of undue influence is a misuse of media power and we need to intervene in the context of elections.”
Referring to the vigilance cells that were set up in the commission to monitor the aberrations in the media, Mr Quraishi said, “We have issued notices and started hearing complaints. In a recent provincial general election, after 86 notices were issued, several candidates admitted to the charge and included expenditure on paid news in their returns. But this again is just the beginning of what looks to be an intriguing and long struggle.”
Despite the high success rate of the Election Commission in battling muscle power and incumbency power, the CEC conceded that dealing with money power is a huge challenge.
Detailing the measures of the EC to combat the menace, Mr Quraishi said, “Recently, we decided to step on the gas. We created a whole new division in the Election Commission just a few months back for monitoring the election expenditures.”
Even as he sought increased voters’ participation in elections the CEC emphasised that voters education holds the key. He said, “Participation based on voluntary inclination and motivation of the individual voters and persuasion by election machinery, rather than compulsion needs to be encouraged. For this to happen, voter education holds the key.”