Bhubaneswar: In view of the panchayat elections, the State Election Commission on Saturday put restrictions on broadcasting and publication of advertisements in local TV channels and print media.
Stating that broadcasting of these advertisements amount to violation of the model code of conduct, the SEC asked Union ministries of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Drinking water and Sanitation to stop further issue of advertisements related to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in local TV channels, an official release said.
Following the complaint lodged by BJD on December 29, the commission issued the direction.
Similalry, State BJP had also moved to the Commission earlier. Based on the complaint of the State unit of Saffron party, the SEC directed all district collectors to stop disbursement of Aina booklets at public distribution system (PDS) stores. The booklet issued by the state Information and Public relations department contains information about populist schemes of the state government.