EC orders crack down on anonymous political hoardings amid complaints
New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission on Wednesday directed clear identification of the printer and publisher on printed election-related material, including hoardings, in a bid to ensure accountability and transparency in poll campaigning.
The poll authority said the decision was taken by it after representations were received stating that in hoarding spaces controlled by municipal authorities, hoardings without the identity of the printer or publisher have been noticed.
The Aam Aadmi Party had also approached the EC on the issue recently.
The EC pointed to section 127A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which prohibits the printing or publishing of election pamphlets, posters, placards, or banners without prominently displaying the name and address of the printer and publisher.
This requirement of disclosing the identity of publishers serves as a cornerstone for regulating campaign financing and fixing of responsibility in case content is found unbecoming of the framework of the Model Code of Conduct or the statutory provisions, it underlined.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had recently highlighted addressing the issue of misinformation as one of the challenges along with money and muscle power, for a level-playing field. Kumar had also read out a couplet to highlight the point that misinformation needs to be curbed. He had described misinformation as a "bubble" which "bursts" when touched.
"With this directive, the Commission now has put the accountability on printers, publishers, licensees/contractors of urban local bodies renting out outdoor advertising space for political advertisements published on outdoor media," it said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
