HYDERABAD: The Congress has been left fuming following the office of the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) revoking the permission granted for the telecast of several of its election campaign videos. The party is now circulating the videos on social media with an imprint “banned” in vibrant red.
The Telangana CEO, in response to the alleged violation of the rules set by the Media Certification Monitoring Committee (MCMC), on Monday canceled a total of 15 political advertisements of three political parties: BRS (four), Congress (six) and BJP (five). Following discussions within the MCMC, the officials decided to withdraw and withhold the permission previously granted for these political advertisements.
The controversial series of campaign videos features a lookalike of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao delivering public speeches, with citizens confronting him. Each video depicts the lead artist pushing a deflated Premier Padmini car, symbolizing the rejection of the ruling BRS by the people.
It is learned that the BRS took strong exception to the video clips and complained about their circulation. When contacted, a senior officer connected to the office of the CEO said that they issued a show cause notice to the parties violating the directions of EC and circulating the videos in question.
In response to the CEO’s decision, a delegation of the Congress reached his office appealing to allow the videos. The Congress contends that the BRS exerted undue pressure on the Telangana CEO to impose a ban on the publicity material. Speaking to TNIE, TPCC vice president and media coordinator Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy recalled that the videos in question, approved by the MCMC, were neither modified nor misused.
“Even if the videos approved were modified, the Election Commission of India should have brought to our notice or issued a notice for an immediate correction. Instead, they have imposed a ban on it. It is unjustifiable. If the ECI does not withdraw the ban, we will approach the court,” Kiran Kumar Reddy said.
Subsequently, this directive was communicated to electronic media and social media channels, instructing them not to broadcast the political advertisements in question. Meanwhile, Additional CEO Lokesh Kumar said that if the parties resubmit the advertisements, the poll panel will verify them and take a decision.
On November 11, the Additional Chief Electoral Officer wrote to the editors of electronic media and social media platforms stating that the advertisements of political parties approved by the ‘State level Certification Committee’ for the purpose of general elections to the Legislative Assembly, 2023, were “modified and misused”.