The Press Council of India has sent a communiqu? to the Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda suggesting guidelines to be followed during the General Elections, 2009, by the media and the administration to ensure free and fair coverage of news relating to the election process.
In its guidelines to the authorities, the council has mentioned that the press should be allowed unhindered access to information and venues of the election process, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of security. Rules and orders regulating the entry of media people to polling venues should be notified and the cut-off date for applying for passes should be given due and advance publicity. The guidelines notes that since there is nothing secret or confidential about the election process, it is the duty of the authorities to give access to the media to the polling booths and to the centres where the counting process is underway, and all other places where they can collect information with regard to different stages of the election process.
Advance information should be provided to all media persons on the cut-off date for filling applications for passes. If all the applications received by the due date satisfy the criterion laid down, they must be uniformly applied and passes be issued by the concerned authorities without any discrimination. The authorities cannot prohibit the use of vehicles by media persons for movement during elections.
The guidelines to media on election reporting lay down that it will be the duty of the press to give objective reports about the election and the candidates. The newspapers are not expected to indulge in unhealthy election
campaigns, exaggerated
reports about any candidate or party or incidents during the election. In practice, two or three key contestants tend to hog media attention.
While reporting on the actual campaign, a newspaper may not leave out any important point raised by a candidate and make an attack on his or her opponent.
Election campaign along communal lines or caste lines is banned under the Representation of the People?s Act, 1951. The press should eschew reports that tend to promote feelings of enmity or hatred between people on grounds of region, religion, race caste, community or language. The press should refrain from publishing false or critical statement in regard to the personal character and conduct of any candidate, or, in relation to the candidature or withdrawal of any candidate or candidature, to prejudice the prospects of that candidate in the elections.
The guidelines say that the press should not publish unverified allegations against any candidate or party. The press should not accept any kind of inducement, financial or otherwise, to project a candidate or a party. It should not accept hospitality or other facility offered to them, by or on behalf of any candidate or party. The press is not expected to indulge in canvassing for a particular candidate or party. If it does, it should allow the right of reply to the other candidate or party. The press should not accept or publish any advertisement at the cost of public exchequer regarding achievements of a party or government in power. The press should observe all the directions, orders and instructions of the Election Commission, Returning Officer or Chief Electoral Officer issued from time to time.
In the guidelines on pre-poll surveys, the council says they the media should take care to preface them conspicuously identifying the instructions that accompany such surveys, the individuals and organisations which have commissioned the surveys, the size and nature of the samples selected, the method of selection of the samples for the findings and the possible margin of error in the findings. In the event of staggered polls, no newspaper should publish exit poll surveys, however, genuine these may be, till the last date of the polls is over.