Paid news, opinion polls cause concern
NEW DELHI: With five states going for assembly polls before May, chief election commissioner SY Quraishi yesterday said that paid news was a matter of grave concern for the election panel.
He also suggested that opinion polls should be banned during elections. Elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puduchery are scheduled to be held by May.
"Paid news around election time is a matter of great concern. It attempts to deceive the voters and affect their opinion. All political parties are unanimous that paid news is a big problem because they are all hit by one another," Quraishi said.
"There has to be some legal means to stop this," he added.
Quraishi said the election commission and the law ministry were organising seven regional consultations on electoral reforms.
"Among the suggested
reforms is preventing criminals from contesting elections. Parties should not give ticket to such people," Quraishi
said.
While the election commission has the power to register a political party, there is no power to deregister one. There are many parties which do not exist and may be a money laundering device, Quraishi added.
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