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News / Explained / Explained Politics / Explained: Rules for political parties to use state-funded media
during polls

Explained: Rules for political

parties to use state-funded
media during polls
Two Opposition leaders, Sitaram Yechury and G Devarajan, recently slammed
Doordarshan and All India Radio for ‘censoring’ their speeches. Here is what
the rulebook officially says

Written by Damini Nath

New Delhi | May 18, 2024 07:16 IST

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5/18/24, 8:40 AM Explained: Rules for political parties to use state-funded media during polls | Explained News - The Indian Express

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Recognised political parties have been allowed to freely use state-owned television and radio during
polls since the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.

Two Opposition leaders — Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary

Sitaram Yechury and All India Forward Bloc leader G Devarajan — were asked to
make certain changes to their speeches made on Doordarshan and All India Radio
(AIR) during the allocated broadcast time in the run up to the ongoing Lok Sabha
elections.

Yechury had to delete references to the electoral bond scheme, drop terms
“communal authoritarian regime” and “draconian laws”, and replace “bankruptcy”
(of governance) with “failure”. Devarajan was made to remove the word “Muslims”
from his speech about the Citizenship Amendment Act.

However, according to a Prasar Bharati official, the TV and radio networks were
simply following rules set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the
use of state-controlled media by recognised parties during elections. Prasar Bharati
is India’s state-run public broadcaster and the parent organisation of Doordarshan
and AIR.

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5/18/24, 8:40 AM Explained: Rules for political parties to use state-funded media during polls | Explained News - The Indian Express

Allocation of time on state media

Recognised political parties have been allowed to freely use state-owned television
and radio during polls since the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. The ECI decides how
much time each recognised national and state party will be allotted prior to the
start of the election campaign.

National parties, all put together, get a minimum of 10 hours of telecasting time on
Doordarshan’s national channel, and at least 15 hours on its regional channels.
They also get 10 hours of broadcasting time on the national hook-up of AIR and 15
hours of broadcasting on regional AIR stations. State parties, all put together, get a
minimum of 30 hours of telecasting time on the appropriate regional Doordarshan
channel and AIR radio station.

On March 28, the ECI allocated broadcast and telecast time to each of the six
national parties — AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI(M), Congress, and Conrad Sangma’s National
People’s Party — and 59 state parties for the 2024 elections. For national parties, out
of the 10 hours prescribed, a total of 4.5 hours (45 minutes each) was allocated in
both Doordarshan and AIR. The remaining 5.5 hours was further allocated on the
basis of voteshare in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Similar formulae was followed
while allocating time to state parties.

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5/18/24, 8:40 AM Explained: Rules for political parties to use state-funded media during polls | Explained News - The Indian Express

Guidelines on speeches’ contents

Parties and their speakers are expected to submit transcripts of their speeches
three to four days before recording — these have to be approved by the concerned
authorities in the respective AIR and Doordarshan stations.

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The ECI’s guidelines forbid “criticism of other countries; attack on religions or

communities; anything obscene or defamatory; incitement of violence; anything
amounting to contempt of court; aspersions against the integrity of the President
and judiciary; anything affecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the nation;
and any criticism by name of any person”.

However, both Devarajan and Yechury, whose edited speeches were aired on
Doordarshan on April 16, were not happy with the changes made to their speech.

“The censorship applied to the text of my address on Doordarshan is a patent denial

of the right to dissent in a democracy… The deletion of the word ‘bankruptcy’ of
governance and the suggestion to replace it with ‘failure’ only endorses the
authoritarian character of the government,” Yechury wrote in a letter to Director
General, Doordarshan.

Devarajan told The Indian Express that after he was told to drop the word ‘Muslims’
from his speech, he (unsuccessfully) argued for the need to use the word to
emphasise that the CAA is “discriminatory to Muslims as the law mentions every
other minority community eligible for citizenship”.

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5/18/24, 8:40 AM Explained: Rules for political parties to use state-funded media during polls | Explained News - The Indian Express

The ECI had allocated 54 minutes each on Doordarshan and AIR to CPI(M), and 26
minutes each on the two media to AIFB.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

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Damini Nath Follow

Damini Nath is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. She covers
the housing and urban affairs and Election Commission beats. She has 11 years...ofRead More
experienc…

First uploaded on: 18-05-2024 at 07:16 IST

TAGS: All India Radio Doordarshan Lok Sabha Elections 2024

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