DEO Sakshi Sawhney visits MCMC Room in District Administrative Complex

Ludhiana, March 18, 2024: District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney on Monday said that the district administration will keep a close vigil over the paid news and advertisement content in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI),

Sawhney accompanied by the Additional Deputy Commissioner Major Amit Sareen, Assistant Commissioner Krishna Pal Rajpoot  and District Public Relations Officer Puneet Pal Singh Gill, visited the room of Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) in District Administrative Complex Ludhiana and said that the committee had been set up with the motive of keeping an eye over the paid news. She said that the Election Commission had issued strict instructions to monitor the advertisements, publicity of candidates and paid news by print and electronic/social media adding that expenses on these things would be included in the account of the candidates. The committee will also closely monitor the news content in news channels/social media as well as newspapers.

Interacting with the committee members, the District Election Officer said that all the members must perform their duty diligently to check such news content. Sawhney said that the committee had been mandated for certification of advertisements, monitoring of news in print and electronic media besides maintaining records of all election-related news of candidates. She added that this committee would also verify the advertising contents to be broadcast by candidates before releasing them to the electronic/social media. 

Any violation of the model code of conduct by political parties would also be monitored, she added.