INDIA: 'Das manipulated media during Lok Sabha polls'

Three prominent Hindi newspapers published "stories" of BSP general secretary Akhilesh Das that blurred the lines between news, commentary and advertising

The Times of India
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lucknow --- The ghost of 2009 Lok Sabha elections is still haunting BSP general secretary, Akhilesh Das. Two months after he lost the polls from the prestigious Lucknow seat, he now faces the charges of manipulating media during the election campaign.

A group of social activists under the aegis of National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), have approached the Election Commission of India with the news clippings of certain newspapers, supposedly published with an intention to promote the BSP candidate during the elections. The group, headed by Magsasay Award winner, Sandeep Pandey, has also approached the Press Council of India (PCI) and the Registrar for Newspapers in India (RNI) against the said media houses.

The newspapers in questions are three prominent Hindi daily which carried 'stories' of Das gaining popularity among voters. To this, the society came out with a report, 'News monitoring, aggregation and analysis of media reporting during the 15th Lok sabha election 2009 in Lucknow', and categorically pointed its fingers towards the BSP candidate. The report, which has been sent to the ECI, PCI and the RNI, said that "the distinction between news, views and advertising was hard to make. The breach of trust with which a reader buys a newspaper for unbiased and non-partisan reporting was also a major concern."

In fact, the group calculated the estimated expenditure on such 'news items' and claimed that Das alone spent Rs 57,97,134 to seek favours. This was more than what BSP as a party spent on advertisements -- Rs 30,20,000. Congress leader, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, too, spent Rs 9,67,230 for the purpose, while Congress party spent Rs 57,46,512. Samajwadi Party (SP) pipped every one as a party spending over Rs 1.5 crore on such advertisements, while BJP lagged behind it at Rs 96,58,180.

NAPM, in the said report, said that most of such items did not carry any 'credit line' which was again contrary to the practice adopted in media profession. One of the newspapers published black and white photographs of Akhilesh Das or Lalji Tandon. But rarely did it publish photographs of any other candidate. Without exception, all headlines of news related to Das were clearly suggestive and had a strong overtone, anticipating his 'landslide victory', the report added.

"The reports were completely one-sided. Other important issues were completely hidden. Though the Election Commission was strict, media should also have maintained strict discipline," said Pandey, who is the convener of NAPM. He said that one of the newspapers, acclaimed to be owned by Das himself, looked like a "newsletter" throughout the elections. "People were paying for the newspaper and not a newsletter," he said, wryly.

Date Posted: 7/14/2009