Poll Body Warns Of Strict Action Against Anonymous Political Hoardings In Delhi

Amid complaints, including those by the Congress, the Election Commission has reminded the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to take action against anonymous political hoardings.

In a letter to the CEO of Delhi, the poll authority said it had been receiving representations from various stakeholders, including political parties, regarding anonymous election hoardings at authorised and unauthorised sites in the national capital.

Anonymous political or election hoardings or advertisements are those which do not bear on their face the names and addresses of the printer and the publisher -- a violation of the electoral laws and the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.

The poll panel reminded the CEO of the various legal provisions and its instructions, including the one issued as recently as in March, to deal with such advertisements.

"All these instructions are to be followed scrupulously in letter and spirit while dealing with the complaints referred to above," the EC told the poll officer in Delhi.

It also noted that as Delhi has entered the campaigning period for the Lok Sabha elections, "there may be deliberate attempts in the field to put/circulate anonymous handbills/pamphlets/hoardings at authorised/unauthorised sites, which may have potential to vitiate the electoral atmosphere and negatively impact the campaign discourse". 

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