The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday appealed to the Election Commission (EC) to issue clear guidelines to the organisations conducting opinion polls and media outfits using the same for fixing the accountability to ensure that those indulging in frivolous activities don’t get away easily.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said a recent sting by a TV channel had shown that the opinion polls could be easily manipulated for pecuniary benefits and that the menace struck at the very root of our country’s democracy by manufacturing public opinion through falsehood.
Commending the EC for its consistent stand against the telecast and publication of the opinion polls, Kejriwal said, “ The AAP does not favour a blanket ban on opinion polls, but it is requesting the Election Commission to take concrete steps for ensuring that there should be a code of conduct for the telecast and publication of opinion polls.”
He requested the EC to renew its efforts to remind the lawmakers to ensure that no motivated attempts are allowed so as to mislead the people during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He also wrote to News Broadcasting Standards Authority chairperson Justice (retired) R V Raveendran, drawing his attention towards the issue of ownership of the media organisations.
“All the media organisations must be required to disclose the list of their share holders, investors and lenders, their annual financial statements and make full disclosure of their political connections and business interests outside media,” he said.